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UBfiAW 
Of  \m 

UNIVtf&ii*  Of  iLUNOlS 


THE 


REPUBLICAN  COURT; 


OR, 

AMERICAN  SOCIETY  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


BY  RUFUS  WILMOT  GRISWOLD. 


A NEW  EDITION,  WITH  THE  AUTHOR’S  LAST  ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS. 


' I 

pity  fktniita  of  Pom, 


ENGRAVED  FROM  ORIGINAL  PICTURES  BY  WOLLASTON,  COPLEY,  GAINSBOROUGH,  STUART 
PEALE,  TRUMBULL,  PINE,  MALBONE,  AND  OTHER  CONTEMPORARY  PAINTERS. 


NEW  YORK : 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  443  AND  445  BROADWAY 

LONDON:  16  LITTLE  BRITAIN. 

1864. 


.Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 
D.  APPLETON  & COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  M.D., 


LL.  H. 


vv 

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H*  . 

M- 

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'■d!S 


Mt  Dear  Dr.  Francis  : 

The  following  work  was  planned  and  its  materials  partially  collected 
several  years  ago  j hut  the  feeble  and  precarious  condition  of  my  health 
prevented  its  execution  until  the  present  season  ; and  now  it  has  been 
written  in  such  haste  and  so  rapidly  printed — each  day’s  product  of  the 
pen  being  returned  to  me  in  proof-sheets  the  following  evening — that  I 
have  had  little  opportunity  for  revision  or  any  thought  of  the  graces  of 
composition.  From  appearances  of  carelessness,  however,  you  will  readily 
perceive  that  one  chapter,  that  entitled  “ The  Convention,”  is  exempt. 
For  this  I am  indebted  to  one  of  the  most  justly  eminent  of  contemporary 
scholars  and  men  of  letters,  who  kindly  consented  to  assist  me,  after  the 
hook  was  announced,  and  when  there  was  very  little  prospect  of  my  having 
sufficient  strength  to  furnish  any  considerable  portion  of  its  contents.  For 
the  rest  I alone  am  responsible  ; and  while  regretting  that  it  has  so  little 
merit  of  a purely  literary  character,  I can  claim  for  it  the  far  more  impor- 
tant excellence  of  a most  exact  adherence  to  truth.  The  subjects  treated 
undoubtedly  admitted  of  easy  and  striking  embellishments  of  fancy,  hut  it 
seemed  to.  me  that  the  volume  would  he,  upon  the  whole,  far  more  accepta- 
ble if  in  its  preparation  I confined  myself  in  even  the  most  trivial  details 
of  narrative,  delineation,  and  suggestion,  to  what  was  clearly  warranted  by 
unquestionable  authorities.  And  of  such  authorities,  fortunately,  I have 
had  an  ample  collection.  Besides  those  which  are  printed  and  accessible  to 
every  student  of  American  history,  I have  had  in  my  possession  more  than 
two  thousand  unpublished  private  letters,  of  which  some  three  hundred  were 


IV 


TO  DR.  FRANCIS. 


by  Washington,  and  great  numbers  by  Mrs.  Adams,  Mrs.  Jay,  Mrs.  Cush- 
ing, Mrs.  Pinckney,  the  families  of  Wolcott,  McKean,  Livingston,  Boudi- 
not,  Willing,  and  others  who  participated  in  the  life  I have  attempted  to 
describe. 

It  is  not  so  much  from  a consideration  of  our  long  continued  friend- 
ship, my  dear  Dr.  F rancis,  that  I inscribe  tc  you  these  pages,  as  from  a 
desire  suitably  to  recognize  my  indebtedness  to  those  inexhaustible  re- 
sources of  minute  and  curious  knowledge  with  which  you  are  wont  to 
instruct  and  delight  the  attached  circle  which  gathers  about  you,  in  the 
intervals  of  that  severe  professional  labor  from  which,  after  half  a century 
from  its  commencement,  the  public,  for  your  eminent  abilities,  refuses  to 
relieve  you.  You  have  retained  to  the  age  of  nearly  three-score  years  and 
ten  all  your  native  physical  and  intellectual  vigor,  a spirit  as  inquisitive, 
a memory  as  retentive,  and  a temper  as  genial  and  indomitable,  as  you 
possessed  when  the  fathers  and  grandfathers  of  the  new  generation  were 
your  partners  in  youthful  energy,  and  the  heroes  of  the  first  and  best  age 
of  the  republic  still  lived  to  instruct  the  world  from  their  experience. 
May  God  long  preserve  to  you  these  qualities,  and,  to  your  friends,  your 
wise  conversation  and  the  assurance  of  your  unfailing  happiness. 

R.  W.  GRISWOLD. 

No.  22  West  Twenty-Third  Street, 

New- York,  October  20,  1854. 


CONTENTS 


PAGH 

PEACE ■ . 1 

THE  CONVENTION 37 

THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE 77 

THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS .113 

THE  INAUGURATION 137 

NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN 147 

THE  EASTERN  TOUR 183 

THE  SEASON  OF  EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY  . . . .203 

REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 231 

SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA 253 

THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR 329 

DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION 341 

LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL 365 

THE  CONCLUSION 413 

APPENDIX 427 

INDEX 457 


PORTRAITS 


PAINTED  BY 

MRS.  WASHINGTON J.  woolaston 

“ THOS.  LINDALL  WINTHROP gilbert  stuart 

“ WILLIAM  DUER 

'«  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON r.  earle 

“ JAMES  MADISON gilbert  stuart 

“ WILLIAM  S.  SMITH John  singleton  copley 

“ JOHN  JAY ROBERT  EDGE  PINE  .... 

“ RUEUS  KING john  trumbull 

“ RALPH  IZARD thomas  Gainsborough. 

“ JAMES  BEEKMAXT 

“ JOHN  ADAMS c.  schessele 

“ HARRISON  GRAY  OTIS edward  g.  malbone.  . . 

“ RICHARD  CATON Robert  edge  pine 

THOMAS  M.  RANDOLPH thomas  sully 

“ HENRY  PHILLIPS 

“ WALTER  STEWART c.  w.  peale 

“ WILLIAM  BINGHAM gilbert  stuart 

“ WILLIAM  JACKSON gilbert  stuart 

“ ROBERT  MORRIS o.  w.  peale 

“ THEODORE  SEDGWICK w.  stuart 

“ EDMUND  C.  GENET 

“ LAWRENCE  LEWIS gilbert  stuart. 

THE  MARCHIONESS  D’YRUJO gilbert  stuart 

MRS.  CHAUNCEY  GOODRICH 

“ CHARLES  CARROLL. john  trumbull 


PAGB 
. 1 

. 10 
. 27 
. 55 

. 69 

. 91 

. 97 
. 113 
. 139 
. 155 
. 169 
. 183 
. 209 
. 219 
. 231 
. 263 
. 294 
..  302 
..  308 
. 326 
. 351 
..  369 
. 388 
. 400 
. 411 


PEACE. 

i. 

At  length  the  struggle  was  ended.  After  eight  years  of  san- 
guinary and  doubtful  war,  came  peace,  at  last,  with  independence, 
acknowledged  by  the  chief  masters  of  the  world.  On  the  nine- 
teenth of  April,  1775,  the  first  blood  of  the  revolution  reddened 
the  field  of  Lexington:  on  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1783,  proclama- 
tion was  made  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris.  On  the  second  of 
the  following  November,  the  veteran  and  victorious  soldiers  were 
disbanded,  by  order  of  Congress,  their  illustrious  Chief  having  the 
previous  day  taken  his  final  leave  of  them,  invoking  from  their 
grateful  country  and  the  God  of  battles  “ ample  justice  here  and 
the  choicest  of  Heaven’s  favors  both  here  and  hereafter.” 

Eight  years  of  desolating  war,  though  crowned  with  a triumph 
which  only  the  most  universal  and  profound  patriotism,  guided  by 
wisdom  almost  superhuman,  could  have  accomplished,  had  brought 
in  them  train  so  much  suffering ; to  so  many  households  mourning 

for  fathers,  brothers,  husbands,  sons ; and  with  their  conclusion  a 

* 

poverty  so  general  and  hopeless,  that  there  was  little  of  that  tur- 
bulence of  joy  which  a more  sudden  and  less  costly  victory  would 

have, excited.  He  who,  scarred  and  poorly  clothed,  laid  aside  his 
l 


2 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


arms,  and  turning  toward  the  haunts  of  his  childhood  saw  fields 
which  had  blossomed  as  the  rose  half  obscured  with  a new  wilder- 
ness, with  perhaps  a charred  and  silent  ruin  in  the  midst,  must 
have  felt  keenly  what  seems  now  to  be  so  commonly  forgotten, 
the  fearful  price  which  had  been  paid  for  liberty.  But  then,  lib- 
erty was  secured,  and,  thankful  for  this,  nearly  every  one  deter- 
mined to  carry  content  with  his  remaining  energies  into  a labo- 
rious private  life. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  November  the  British  army  retired  from 
New  York,  and  the  American  troops,  still  in  service,  entered  from 
an  opposite  direction,  General  Washington  and  Governor  Clinton 
riding  at  the  head  of  the  procession.  These  events  caused,  of 
course,  a general  joy  in  the  city,  and  they  were  celebrated  with  the 
utmost  enthusiasm.  Governor  Clinton  gave  public  dinners,  first 
to  Washington  and  his  companions  in  arms,  and  soon  after  to  the 
French  ambassador,  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne.  At  the  last 
there  were  present  more  than  one  hundred  gentlemen,  besides  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  with  his  general  officers  in  the  city,  and  the 
principal  persons  connected  with  the  state  government;  and  in 
the  evening  followed  the  most  splendid  display  of  fireworks,  from 
the  Bowling  Green,  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  America.  The  next 
day,  the  fourth  of  December,  occurred  the  most  sadly  impressive 
scene  in  Washington’s  history.  At  noon  the  officers  of  the  army 
assembled,  according  to  his  request,  for  a final  parting,  at  Frauncis’s 
tavern,  in  Broad  street.  We  have  a touching  description  of  the 
scene,  by  an  eye-witness.  The  Chief,  with  his  customary  punctual- 
ity, entered  the  room  where  his  brave  associates  for  so  many  years 
were  assembled.  His  emotions  were  too  strong  to  be  concealed. 
Filling  a glass,  he  turned  to  them  and  said : “ With  a heart  full  of 
love  and  gratitude,  I now  take  leave  of  you.  I most  devoutly 
wish  that  your  latter  days  may  be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as 


PEACE. 


3 


your  former  ones  have  been  glorious  and  honorable.”  Having 
drank,  he  added,  “ I cannot  come  to  each  of  you  to  take  my  leave, 
but  shall  be  obliged  if  each  of  you  will  come  and  take  me  by  the 
hand.”  General  Knox,  being  nearest,  turned  to  him.  Incapable 
of  utterance,  the  Chief  embraced  him,  with  tears,  and  in  the  same 
affectionate  manner  he  bade  farewell  to  each  succeeding  officer. 
In  every  eye  was  the  tear  of  dignified  sensibility,  and  not  a word 
interrupted  the  eloquent  silence.  Leaving  the  room,  Thatcher 
continues,  he  passed  through  the  corps  of  Light  Infantry,  and 
walked  to  Whitehall,  where  a barge  awaited  to  convey  him  to 
Paulus  Hook.  The  whole  company  followed  in  mute  and  solemn 
procession,  their  melancholy  countenances  displaying  emotions 
which  cannot  be  described.  Having  entered  the  barge,  he  turned 
to  his  friends,  who  stood  uncovered  upon  the  shore,  and  waving 
his  hat,  bade  them  a silent  adieu.* 

* There  are  some  allusions  to  these  scenes  in  an  interesting  letter,  addressed  to  a friend  at 
Albany,  by  one  of  the  officers  -who  shared  the  last  march  of  the  revolutionary  army.  “ I sup- 
pose,” says  the  writer,  “ Mrs.  Denison  told  you  the  news,  up  to  the  time  she  left.  You  know  all 
about  our  marching  in.  There  has  been  nothing  done  since  but  rejoice,  so  far  as  general  appear- 
ances go,  and  for  my  part,  considering  that  we  are  finally  free  and  independent,  why,  good  God  1 
what  should  I care  for  the  looks  of  the  old  house — perfectly  sacked,  and  in  such  a condition  that 
if  the  little  paper  in  my  exchequer  were  turned  into  specie,  I should  not  be  able  to  give  it  the  com- 
plexion it  had  when  we  quitted  it.  After'all,  since  Henry  was  killed,  it ’s  of  no  great  consequence 
what  we  have  suffered  in  property.  If  he  were  with  me  and  the  girls,  why,  we  could  make  things 
answer,  in  some  way.  Don’t  suspect  I think  of  placing  these  private  troubles  against  the  public 
good  we  have,  and  which  will  make  up  a thousand  times  to  our  children  all  we  have  lost  and 
endured.  Every  body  now  sees  what  a great  character  General  Washington  is.  I have  heard 
a good  deal  about  the  leave  taking  at  Black  Sam’s.  Happy  as  was  the  occasion,  and  prayed 
for  as  it  was  by  him  and  all  patriots,  when  he  might  feel  that  there  was  not  an  enemy  in 
America,  it  brought  with  it  its  sorrows,  and  I could  hardly  speak  when  I turned  from  taking  my 
last  look  of  him.  It  was  extremely  affecting.  I do  not  think  there  ever  were  so  many  broken 
hearts  in  New  York  as  there  were  that  night.  That  cursed  captain  carried  off  Johnson’s  girl,  after 
all.  He  never  would  think  of  such  a thing  you  know.  He  feels  down,  down.  I am  suspicious  he 
will  never  be  the  man  he  was.  The  Chief  was  told  the  story  by  General  Knox,  and  he  said  he 
sincerely  sympathized  with  Johnson.  That  is  like  him.  He  was  always  touched  by  every  body’s 
misfortunes.  I saw  him  at  the  French  minister’s  dinner.  He  looked  considerably  worn  out,  but 
happy,  though  every  now  and  then  he  seemed  to  be  thinking  what  all  this  had  cost,  and  regretting 
that  one  friend  or  another  who  had  stood  the  fire  had  not  lived  to  see  the  glorious  end.  As  to 


4 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


On  Friday,  the  seventeenth  of  December,  he  arrived  at  An- 
napolis. Two  years  before,  on  his  way  northward,  he  had  been 
received  here  with  every  honor  in  the  gift  of  the  city,  and  had 
delighted  the  people  by  his  amenity,  at  a public  dinner,  and  at  a 
ball  graced  by  the  beauty  and  finest  intelligence  of  the  state. 
He  was  now  met  several  miles  from  the  capital,  by  Generals 
Gates  and  Smallwood,  and  a large  concourse  of  distinguished  citi- 
zens, who  escorted  him  to  his  hotel,  amid  discharges  of  cannon, 
the  display  of  banners,  and  every  sign  of  popular  respect  and  ad- 
miration. On  Monday,  a dinner  was  given  to  him  by  the 
members  of  Congress,  at  which  more  than  two  hundred  persons 
were  present,  and  in  the  evening  he  attended  a grand  ball,*  in  the 
state-house,  which  was  brilliantly  illuminated.  In  reply  to  a 
speech  by  the  Mayor,  just  before  he  retired,  he  remarked,  “ If  my 
conduct  has  merited  the  confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  has 
been  instrumental  in  obtaining  for  my  country  the  blessings  of 
peace  and  freedom,  I owe  it  to  that  Supreme  Being  who  guides 
the  hearts  of  all,  who  has  so  signally  interposed  his  aid  in  every 
stage  of  the  contest,  and  who  has  graciously  been  pleased  to  be- 


Johnson,  he  is  not  alone,  by  a vast  many.  These  scamps  could  not  conquer  the  men  of  this 
country,  but  every  -where  they  have  taken  the  -women,  almost  without  a trial,  damn  them ! 
But  as  you  say,  it ’s  the  girls  that  ought  to  be  damned,  who  could  not  hold  out  against  a spruce 
uniform,  nor  remember  a brave  heart.  Well,  it’s  their  weakness.  But  I’m  in  the  wrong  if  one 
of  them  who  has  taken  a British  husband  does  not  rue  it,  for  which,  certainly,  I shall  not  care.” 
The  unhappy  influence  of  “ spruce  uniforms,”  so  feelingly  alluded  to,  was  no  mere  fancy, 
and  the  public  interests  were  not  unfrequently  made  to  suffer  as  deeply  as  the  feelings  of  indi- 
viduals. In  August,  Governor  Livingston  wrote  to  his  daughter  Catherine,  “The  com- 

plaisance with  which  we  treat  the  British  prisoners,  considering  how  they  treat  us  when  in 
captivity,  of  which  you  justly  complain,  is  what  the  Congress  can  never  answer  to  their  con- 
stituents, however  palliated  with  the  specious  name  of  humanity.  It  is  thus  that  we  shall  be  at 
last  humanized  out  of  our  liberties.  ...  I know  there  are  a number  of  flirts  in  Philadelphia, 
equally  famed  for  their  want  of  modesty  and  their  want  of  patriotism,  who  will  triumph  in  our 
over-complaisance  to  the  red  coat  prisoners  lately  arrived  in  that  metropolis.  I hope  none  of  my 
connections  will  imitate  them,  in  the  dress  of  their  heads,  or  in  the  Tory  feelings  of  their  hearts.” 

* The  ball  was  opened  by  General  Washington  and  Mrs.  James  Macubbin,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  women  of  the  time. 


PEACE. 


5 


stow  on  me  tlie  greatest  of  earthly  rewards,  the  approbation  and 
affection  of  a free  people.” 

One  more  scene,  among  the  most  sublime  in  human  history,  and 
not  less  impressive  than  that  of  his  separation  from  his  companions 
in  arms,  awaited  him  before  his  retirement  to  private  life.  On  the 
twenty-third  of  December,  according  to  a previous  order,  he  was 
admitted  to  a public  audience  by  the  Congress,  and  soon  after  he 
was  seated,  the  President,  General  Mifflin,  informed  him  that  that 
body  was  prepared  to  receive  his  communications.  In  a brief  and 
appropriate  speech  he  offered  his  congratulations  on  the  termina- 
tion of  the  war,  and  having  alluded  to  his  object  in  appearing  thus 
in  that  presence — that  he  might  resign  into  the  hands  of  Congress 
the  trust  committed  to  him,  and  claim  the  indulgence  of  retiring 
from  the  public  service — he  concluded : “ I consider  it  an  indispen- 
sable duty  to  close  this  last  act  of  my  official  life,  by  commending 
the  interests  of  our  dearest  country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty 
God,  and  those  who  have  the  superintendence  of  them  to  his  holy 
keeping.  Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I retire 
from  the  theatre  of  action,  and  bidding  an  affectionate  farewell  to 
this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I have  so  long  acted,  I here 
offer  my  commission,  and  take  my  leave  of  all  the  employments  of 
public  life.”  He  then  advanced  and  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
President  his  commission,  with  a copy  of  his  address,  and  when  he 
had  resumed  his  place,  General  Mifflin  replied,  reviewing  in  a few 
words  the  great  career  thus  brought  to  a close,  and  saying  in 
conclusion,  “ The  glory  of  your  virtues  will  not  terminate  with 
your  military  command : it  will  continue  to  animate  the  remotest 
ages.  ...  We  join  with  you  in  commending  the  interests  of  our 
country  to  Almighty  God,  beseeching  Him  to  dispose  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  its  citizens  to  improve  the  opportunity  afforded  them 
of  becoming  a happy  and  respectable  nation.  And  for  you,  we 


6 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


address  to  Him  our  warmest  prayers,  that  a life  so  beloved 
may  be  fostered  with  all  his  care,  that  your  days  may  be  as 
happy  as  they  have  been  illustrious,  and  that  he  will  finally  give 
you  that  reward  which  this  world  cannot  bestow.”  The  editor  of 
the  Maryland  Gazette,  a journal  which  in  this  period  was  printed 
at  Annapolis,  remarks,  after  describing  these  affecting  scenes  : “ Few 
tragedies  ever  drew  so  many  tears,  from  so  many  beautiful  eyes, 
as  the  moving  manner  in  which  his  Excellency  took  his  final  leave 
of  Congress.  The  next  morning  he  set  out  for  Virginia,  accom- 
panied, as  far  as  South  River,  by  Governor  Paca,  with  the  warmest 
wishes  of  the  city  for  his  repose,  health,  and  happiness.  Long  may 
he  live  to  enjoy  them ! ” He  arrived  at  his  home  the  same  even- 
ing, having  been  absent  more  than  eight  years  and  a half,  diu-ing 
which  time  he  had  never  been  at  his  own  house,  except  inciden- 
tally while  on  his  way  with  Count  Rochambeau  to  Yorktown, 
and  in  returning  from  that  expedition.  Here,  for  a while,  we 
leave  him,  surrounded  by  his  family,  receiving  every  day  some 
new  homage  from  his  grateful  countrymen  and  from  the  noblest 
men  of  other  nations,  and  occupied  with  those  rural  pursuits  for 
which  he  had  longed  so  many  years,  that  we  may  take  a brief  sur- 
vey of  the  social  condition  of  our  principal  cities  after  the  termina- 
tion of  the  revolution, 


II. 

Turning  from  the  most  credulous  study  of  the  half  fabulous 
annals  of  ancient  nations,  to  the  history  of  our  own  country,  for 
the  period  which  is  embraced  in  the  memories  of  many  who  are 
still  living,  our  reason  falters  in  astonishment;  we  instinctively 
regard  with  doubt  and  disbelief  the  unparalleled  advance  in  popu- 
lation, wealth,  power,  and  all  the  elements  of  greatness,  of  those 
feeble  and  exhausted  colonies,  which  in  1783  were  acknowledged 


PEACE. 


7 


to  lbe  independent  states,  and  which  now  constitute  one  of  the  first 
of  the  leading  sovereignties  of  the  world.  Since  Washington 
resigned  his  sword,  at  Annapolis,  our  three  millions  of  people 
have  increased  to  thirty  millions,  and  New  York,  with  its  suburbs, 
which  since  some  of  her  present  citizens  arrived  at  the  age  of  man- 
hood had  but  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  is  now  the  third  city  in 
Christendom,  likely  at  the  next  decennial  census  to  have  rank 
nearest  to  London,  and  at  no  distant  period  to  take  from  even  that 
great  capital  her  long  enjoyed  supremacy,  in  numbers,  riches,  and 
magnificence.  Boston  contained  at  the  close  of  the  war  about  thir- 
teen thousand  inhabitants,  in  1786  fourteen  thousand  and.  two  hun- 
dred, and  in  1789  eighteen  thousand ; the  population  of  New  York 
had  increased,  when  the  federal  government  was  inaugurated,  to 
thirty-three  thousand,  of  whom  two  thousand  and  three  hundred 
were  slaves ; and  that  of  Philadelphia  to  forty-two  thousand,  of 
whom  less  than  three  hundred  were  slaves,  and  these  probably  for 
the  most  part  owned  by  temporary  residents. 

In  each  of  these  three  cities,  and  indeed  throughout  the  colonies, 
there  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  as  much  refinement  of 
manners,  with  as  generous  a culture  of  the  heart  and  the  under- 
standing, as  could  be  found  perhaps  in  any  foreign  society.  Many 
of  the  young  men  who  were  then  coming  forward  had  been  edu- 
cated at  Eton,  Oxford,  Cambridge,  and  Edinburgh ; and  our  own 
colleges  of  Harvard,  Yale,  Nassau  Hall,  and  William  and  Mary, 
and  King’s  College  in  New  York,  were  far  more  respectable  for  the 
character  and  learning  of  their  professors,  the  judicious  thorough- 
ness of  their  courses  of  instruction,  and  the  gentlemanly  discipline 
maintained  in  them,  than  is  commonly  supposed.  Schools  for  young 
women  also  were  very  numerous,  and  some  of  them  were  widely 
known  and  most  liberally  supported.  The  most  celebrated  of  these 
was  the  Moravian  establishment  at  Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania, 


8 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


where,  in  nun-like  seclusion,  were  educated  a large  proportion  of 
the  belles  who  gave  the  fashionable  circles  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  their  inspiration  during  the  last  twenty  years  of  the 
century.* 

In  Boston  there  was  undoubtedly  more  real  respectability  than 
in  any  other  town  of  its  population  in  the  British  empire.  It  was 
the  home  of  the  families  of  Winthrop,  variously  illustrious  from 
the  foundation  of  the  colony,  and  of  Cushing,  Quincy,  Bowdoin, 
Dana,  Prescott,  and  others  of  hereditary  distinction ; and  here 
lived  the  “ silver  tongued  orator  ” Samuel  Cooper,  and  Samuel 
Adams,  John  Adams,  Joseph  Warren,  James  Otis,  John  Hancock, 
John  Singleton  Copley,  and  a great  number  besides  who  became 
honorably  conspicuous  in  history.  Except  in  letters,  in  which 
the  names  of  Dana  and  Prescott  have  reappeared  with  additional 
splendors,  Boston  has  never  since,  notwithstanding  her  growth 
in  numbers,  magnificence,  and  means  and  displays  of  refinement, 
presented  a more  remarkable  array  of  dignified  character  and 
eminent  abilities. 

We  have  some  glimpses  of  the  social  life  of  Boston  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  in  the  entertaining  memoirs  of  the  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux,  who  went  the  round  of  fashionable  gayeties  here  in  1782.  He 
noticed  the  prevalence  in  society  of  a certain  “ton  of  ease  and 
freedom,”  but  thought  the  gentlemen  awkward  dancers,  particularly 
in  the  minuet.  The  women  were  well-dressed,  but  with  less  elegance 
than  those  of  Philadelphia.  The  assembly  room  was  superb,  in  a 
good  style  of  architecture,  well  decorated  and  well  lighted — much 
superior  to  that  of  the  Philadelphia  City  Tavern.  He  drank  tea 

* “ I have  seen  a remarkable  institution  for  the  education  of  young  ladies,  at  Bethlehem.  About 
one  hundred  and  twenty  of  them  live  together  under  the  same  roof ; they  sleep  all  together,  in 
the  same  garret ; I saw  one  hundred  and  twenty  beds,  in  two  long  rows,  in  the  same  room ; the 
beds  and  bedclothes  were  all  of  excellent  quality,  and  extremely  neat.  How  should  you  like  to 
live  in  such  a nunnery?” — John  Adams,  to  his  daughter,  March  17,  1777. 


PEACE. 


9 


at  Mr.  Bowdoin’s  and  was  there  with  a supper  party  of  twenty  of 
the  select  people  of  the  city.*  The  next  day,  with  the  Marquis  de 
Yaudreuil,  he  dined  at  Mr.  Breck’s,  where,  among  some  thirty  per- 
sons, he  encountered  Mrs.  Tudor,  who  knew  French  perfectly,  and 
was  possessed  of  understanding,  grace,  and  delicacy,  and  Mrs.  Mor- 
ton, who,  besides  speaking  French,  was  a poetess  of  no  mean  cele- 
brity. Soon  after  he  attended  the  Tuesday  evening  Club,  which 
is  still  in  existence,  at  the  end  of  more  than  a century  from  its 
commencement ; and  calling  again  at  Mr.  Bowdoin’s,  his  admiration 
was  kindled  at  the  sight  of  that  gentleman’s  beautiful  grand-daugh- 
ter, the  eldest  child  of  Lady  Temple,  “ an  angel  in  the  disguise  of 

* Francis  Jean,  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  litterateur,  philosopher,  and  soldier,  was  born  of  a 
noble  family  in  Paris  in  1734.  He  was  elected  in  1775  one  of  the  forty  members  of  the  French 
Academy,  and  in  1780  came  to  America,  with  the  rank  of  Major  General,  under  the  Count  de 
Rochambeau,  and  remained  here  between  two  and  three  years.  He  published  De  la  Felicite 
Publique,  1772;  Voyage  dans  VAmerique  Septentrionale,  dans  les  annes  1780-81-82,  in  two  vol- 
umes, which  were  severely  criticised  by  Brissot  de  Warville ; Essai  sur  V Union  de  la  Poesie  et  de 
la  Musique  ; Discours  sur  les  AvantagesctDesavantages  qui  resultant  pour  V Europe  de  la  Decouvcrte 
de  VAmerique  ; Discours  en  Vers  addresses  aux  officiers  et  soldats  des  differentes  Armees  Americaincs, 
traduit  de  l’Anglais  de  David  Humphreys,  and  some  other  works,  besides  articles  in  the  Ency- 
clopedic, &c.  He  died  in  1788.  It  was  but  a short  time  before  his  death  that  the  Marquis  was 
mai'ried,  and  he  wrote  to  Washington  advising  him  of  the  happy  event.  The  Chief  answered  in 
one  of  the  few  examples  of  written  pleasantry  we  have  from  him.  “ I was,”  he  says,  “ not  less 
delighted  than  surprised  to  meet  the  plain  American  words,  * my  wife.’  A wife ! well,  my  dear 
Marquis,  I can  scarcely  refrain  from  smiling  to  find  you  caught  at  last.  I saw  by  the  eulogium 
you  often  made  on  the  happiness  of  domestic  life  in  America  that  you  had  swallowed  the  bait, 
and  that  you  would  as  surely  be  taken,  one  day  or  another,  as  that  you  were  a philosopher  and 
a soldier.  So  your  day  has  at  length  come.  I am  glad  of  it,  with  all  my  heart.  It  is  quite  good 
enough  for  you.  Now  you  are  well  served  for  coming  to  fight  in  favor  of  the  American  rebels, 
all  the  way  across  the  Atlantic  ocean,  by  catching  that  terrible  contagion,  domestic  felicity, 
which,  like  the  small  pox  or  the  plague,  a man  can  have  only  once  in  his  life,  because  it  com- 
monly lasts  him,  (at  least  with  us  in  America : I know  not  how  you  manage  these  matters  in 
France,)  for  his  whole  lifetime.  And  yet,  after  all,  the  worst  wish  which  I can  find  it  in  my 
heart  to  make  against  Madame  de  Chastellux  and  yourself  is,  that  you  may  neither  of  you  ever 
get  the  better  of  this  same  domestic  felicity,  during  the  entire  course  of  your  mortal  existence. 
If  so  wonderful  an  event  should  have  occasioned  me,  my  dear  Marquis,  to  write  in  a strange 
style,  you  will  understand  me  as  clearly  as  if  I had  said,  what  in  plain  English  is  the  simple 
truth,  ‘ Do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I take  a heartfelt  interest  in  whatever  concerns  your 
happiness,’  And,  in  this  view,  I sincerely  congratulate  you  on  your  auspicious  matrimonial 
connection.” 


2 


10 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


a young  girl.”  * M.  de  Chastellux  discovered  that  the  Americans 
had  the  bad  habit  of  eating  too  frequently,  and  they  made  him 
play  at  whist,  with  English  cards,  much  handsomer  and  dearer  than 
were  used  in  Paris,  and  marked  their  points  with  louis  d'ors.  The 
stakes  however  were  easy  to  settle,  notwithstanding  the  addiction  of 
the  people  of  this  country  to  gambling,  for  the  company  was  still 
faithful  to  that  voluntary  law  established  in  society  which  prohi- 
bited playing  for  money  during  the  war. 

M.  Jean  Pierre  Brissot  de  Warville  followed  in  a few  years,  and 
was  not  less  pleased  than  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux  with  the  amia- 
ble, affable,  hospitable  people  of  Boston.  Were  he  to  paint  all  the 
estimable  characters  he  met  in  that  charming  town,  he  tells  us,  his 
portraits  would  never  be  finished.  The  Bostonians  were  even  then 
somewhat  too  philosophical  in  their  religion,  but  they  united  sim- 
plicity of  morals  with  that  French  politeness  and  delicacy  of  man- 
ners which  rendered  virtue  most  agreeable.  They  were  true  friends, 
tender  husbands,  almost  idolatrous  parents,  and  kind  masters.  The 
grim  young  republican  heard  in  some  houses  the  piano  forte,  and 
exclaimed,  “ God  grant  that  the  Boston  women  may  never,  like  those 
of  Paris,  acquire  la  maladie  of  perfection  in  the  art  of  music,  which 
is  not  to  be  attained  but  at  the  expense  of  the  domestic  virtues ! ” 
The  “ demoiselles  here  had  the  liberty  enjoyed  in  Geneva,  when 
morals  were  there,  in  the  time  of  the  republic ; and  they  did  not 
abuse  it.  Their*  frank  and  tender  hearts  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  perfidy  of  men : the  vows  of  love  were  believed ; ” and  wives, 
to  sum  up  all,  were  “ occupied  in  rendering  their*  husbands  happy.” 

* Miss  Temple,  afterward  Mrs.  Wiuthrop,  and  the  mother  of  the  present  Mr.  Robert  C.  Win- 
throp,  was  brought  up  in  Governor  Bowdoin’s  family,  and  adopted  by  him  as  a daughter.  With 
him  she  lived  during  the  whole  period  of  the  revolution,  meeting  at  his  house  Franklin  and  La- 
fayette, and  all  the  French  and  American  officers  of  distinction  who  visited  the  city.  Lafayette 
was  a great  admirer  of  hers,  and  called  often  to  see  her  during  his  last  visit  to  America.  She 
was  long  the  reigning  belle  of  Boston. 


library 

OFTHt 
UWVERSW  0^ 


ilunois 


PEACE. 


11 


III. 

Philadelphia,  it  will  be  perceived,  was  still  the  largest  town 
in  tbe  country.  By  general  consent  it  bad  been  regarded  as  tbe 
metropolis,  except  while  occupied  by  tbe  enemy,  during  tbe  war. 
Tbe  Chevalier  de  Beaujour,  who  described  it  a few  years  later, 
denies  its  claim  to  be  considered  tbe  most  beautiful  city  in  tbe 
world,  but  admits  that  it  was  tbe  most  remarkable  for  tbe  regu- 
larity of  its  streets,  and  tbe  cleanliness  of  its  bouses.  “ It  is  cut,” 
be  says,  “ like  a chess-board,  at  right  angles.  All  tbe  streets  and 
bouses  resemble  each  other,  and  nothing  is  so  gloomy  as  this 
uniformity,  unless  it  be  tbe  sadness  of  tbe  inhabitants,  tbe  greater 
part  of  whom  are  of  Quaker  or  Puritan  descent.” 

Society  here,  in  tbe  middle  of  tbe  last  century,  was  divided  into 
two  classes  of  families,  recognized  as  of  family  rank,  though  family 
rank  of  very  different  kinds.  One  comprised  tbe  Logans,  Sbippens, 
Pembertons,  Morrises,  Wains,  Lloyds  (of  tbe  ancient  bouse  of  Do- 
lobran),  Hills,  Wynnes,  Moores,  Benezets,  Norrises,  Peningtons,  and 
a few  others  of  Quaker  antiquity,  highly  esteemed  even  beyond  tbe 
circle  of  their  sect  for  substantial  qualities  and  comfortable  regard 
for  domestic  ease,  but  bound,  of  course,  by  tbe  essence  of  them  faith, 
to  an  abnegation  of  nearly  every  thing  that  belonged  to  tbe  spirit 
of  tbe  cavaber,  and  of  every  thing  which  illustrates  itself  in  tbe 
tastes  or  shows  of  life.  This  was  tbe  elder  part  of  tbe  provincial  aris- 
tocracy. Some  of  them  or  then*  ancestors  bad  come  on  “The  Wel- 
come,” along  with  William  Penn  himself,  and  whatever  bad  been 
their  rank  at  home  — in  many  cases  it  was  of  unquestionable  respect- 
ability— they  formed  in  Pennsylvania  a sort  of  “ Battle  Abbey  Boll,” 
and  some  time  before  tbe  death  of  Penn  bad  obtained  a peacea- 
ble possession  from  which  tbe  advent  of  a class  more  bberal,  educated, 
and  accomplished,  has  never  dispossessed  then*  names. 


12 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


The  death  of  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania  in  1718,  the  increas- 
ing wealth  and  civilization  of  the  colony,  and  the  return  of  the 
proprietory  descendants  to  the  established  church,  brought  from 
England  at  a later  date,  and  generally  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  a class  of  entirely  different  families.  For  the  most  part 
they  were  in  some  connection  with  the  proprietary  offices,  now 
grown  important.  They  were  with  few  exceptions  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  of  liberal  education — merchants  trained  in  the 
honorable  principles  of  a large  commerce,  lawyers  who  had  pursued 
then-  studies  at  the  Temple  — and  it  may  be  supposed  were  recog- 
nized at  home  as  people  of  liberal  culture,  of  social  refinement,  and 
“ of  orthodox  principles,  both  in  church  and  state.”  Such  doubt- 
less were  the  Allens,  Ashetons  (though  this  family  came  earlier), 
Lawrences,  Chews,  Tilghmans,  Plumsteds,  Hamiltons,  Hackleys, 
Inglises,  Simses,  Francises,  Masters,  Bonds,  Peterses,  Conynghams 
of  Conyngham,  Chancellors,  and  Maddoxes.  These  last  two,  of 
which  the  second  is  extinct  in  the  male  line,  came  in  the  beginning 
of  the  century.  Certain  of  the  Shippens,  likewise,  originally  of 
Quaker  affinities,  had  now  in  the  third  generation  been  so  educated 
in  England  as  to  belong  more  to  this  class  than  to  the  former  one, 
and  several  families  from  Scotland,  who  had  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
about  1740  to  1745,  are  also  to  be  reckoned  in  it.  These  all  constitut- 
ed a secondary  formation  in  the  colonial  stratification.  At  a later 
date  the  men  of  the  revolution,  Bradford,  McKean,  Biddle,  Mifflin, 
and  many,  of  rank,  from  other  states,  such  as  Major  Pierce  Butler, 
Mr.  Boudinot,  Mr.  Keed,  and  some  others,  whom  public  affairs 
brought  permanently  to  Philadelphia,  were  a third  class,  which 
comprised  a few  and  only  a few  of  both  the  former  classes:  the 
Quakers  having  been  generally  excluded  as  averse  to  war  of  any 
kind,  and  many  of  the  provincial  gentry  as  averse  to  a war  with 
Great  Britain.  The  small  number  of  the  older  classes,  principally  of 


PEACE. 


13 


the  second,  who  supported  the  war,  attracted  to  their  new  character 
more  than  the  natural  influence  of  their  former  colonial  standing.* 


IY. 

Eminent  among  the  English  families  of  this  second  class  were 
the  Willings,  who  for  strong  social  connections  and  great  weight 


* The  following  document,  never  before  published  in  a form  likely  to  be  preserved,  is  curious 
and  interesting.  It  is  a copy  of  the  original  subscription  list  to  the  first  city  dancing  assembly, 
held  in  Philadelphia  in  the  year  P748.  It  contains  a record  of  most  of  the  persons  then  in 
Philadelphia  belonging  to  the  second  class  of  which  I have  spoken.  Some  of  the  names,  such 
as  those  of  Kidd,  Mackimen,  Sober,  Wiseheart,  Polyeeen,  Boyle,  Godons,  Cottenham,  Maland, 
and  Cozzens,  are,  I believe,  hardly  now  known  even  to  antiquaries  in  that  city.  They  were 
probably  strangers  or  temporary  residents.  A few,  like  those  of  Bond,  Stedman,  Franks,  Inglis, 
and  Levy,  are  now  represented  in  female  lines.  But  notwithstanding  the  change  often  made  upon 
the  structure  and  chances  of  our  society  by  our  transatlantic  brethren,  it  will  be  obvious  that 
now,  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  from  its  date  — a revolution  having 
occurred  in  the  meantime,  and  a republican  commonwealth  having  taken  the  place  of  a proprie- 
tary and  royal  province  — many  of  the  remaining  names  still  subsist  and  are  well  known  in  the 
identical  form  on  which  they  appear  on  the  original  subscription  list,  made  twenty-eight  years 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

A list  of  subscribers  for  an  Assembly , under  the  direction  of  John  Inglis , Lynford  Lardnor,  JohnWallace,  and 
John  Swift:  Each  subscription  forty  shillings,  to  be  paid  to  any  of  the  directors  on  subscribing. 


Alexander  Hamilton, 
T.  Lawrence,  jr., 
John  Wallace, 
Phineas  Bond, 
Charles  Willing, 
Joseph  Shippen, 
Samuel  McCall,  jr., 
George  McCall, 
Edward  Jones, 
Samuel  McCall,  sen., 
K.  Conyingham, 
Joseph  Sims, 


T.  Lawrence,  sen., 
David  Mcllvaine, 
John  Wilcocks, 
Charles  Steadman, 
John  Kidd, 
William  Bingham, 
Buekridge  Sims, 
John  Swift, 

John  Kearsley,  jr., 
William  Plumsted, 
Andrew  Elliot, 
James  Burd, 


James  Hamilton, 
Eobert  Mackimen, 
William  Allen, 
Archibald  McCall, 
Joseph  Turner, 
Thomas  Hopkinson, 
Eichard  Peters, 
Adam  Thomson, 
Alexander  Steadman, 
Patrick  Baird, 

John  Sober, 

David  Franks, 


John  Inglis, 

E.  Wiseheart, 

Abram  Taylor, 

James  Trotter, 
Samson  Levy, 
Lynford  Lardnor, 
Eichard  Hill,  jr., 
Benjamin  Price, 

John  Francis, 
William  Mcllvaine, 
William  Humphreys, 
William  Peters, 


James  Polyeeen, 
William  Franklin, 
Henry  Harrison, 
John  Uewson, 
Daniel  Boyle, 
Thomas  White, 
John  Lawrence, 
Thomas  Godons, 
John  Cottenham, 
John  Maland, 
William  Cozzens. 


The  above  list  is  older  than  the  one  given  by  Mr.  Watson,  in  his  “ Annals.”  That  careful  antiquary  furnishes  tha 
following  catalogue  of  fashionable  “ belles  and  dames”  for  the  ball  of  the  City  Assembly  in  1757: 


Mrs.  Allen, 

Mrs.  Taylor, 

Mrs.  Hamilton, 

Mrs.  Brotherson, 

Mrs.  Inglis, 

Mrs.  Jeykell, 

Mrs.  Franks, 

Mrs.  Lydia  M'Call, 
Mrs.  Sam’l  M‘Call,  sen., 
Mrs.  Sam’l  M‘Call,  jr., 
Mrs.  Swift, 

Mrs.  Sims, 

Mrs.  Willcocks, 

Mrs.  Lawrence, 

Mrs.  Greame, 

Mrs.  Bobertson, 

Mrs  Francis, 


Mrs.  Joseph  Shippen, 
Mrs.  Dolgreen, 

Mrs.  Phineas  Bond, 
Mrs.  Burd, 

Mrs.  Chas.  Steadman, 
Mrs.  Thomas  White, 
Mrs.  Johnes, 

Mrs.  Warren, 

Mrs.  Oswald, 

Mrs.  Thomas  Bond, 
Mrs.  Davey, 

Mrs.  Wm.  Humphreys, 
Mrs.  Pennery, 

Mrs.  Henry  Harrison, 
Mrs.  Bingham, 

Mrs.  Clymer, 

Mrs.  Wallace, 


Mrs.  Alex.  Steadman, 
Mrs.  Hopkinson, 

Miss  Patty  Ellis, 

Mrs.  Marks, 

Miss  Molly  Francis, 
Miss  Betty  Francis, 
Miss  Osburn, 

Miss  Sober, 

Miss  Molly  Lawrence, 
Miss  Kitty  Lawrence, 
Mrs.  George  Smith, 
Miss  Nancy  Hickman, 
Miss  Sally  Hunlock, 
Miss  Peggy  Harding, 
Miss  Molly  M'Call, 
Miss  Peggy  M'Call, 
Mrs.  Lardner, 


Miss  Betty  Plumsted, 
Miss  Eebecca  Davis, 
Miss  Jeany  Greame, 
Miss  Nelly  M'Call, 
Miss  Eandolph, 

Miss  Sophia  White, 
Mrs.  Yenables, 

Miss  Hyatt, 

Miss  Betty  Clifften, 
Miss  Molly  Dick, 
Miss  Fanny  Jeykell, 
Miss  Fanny  Marks, 
Miss  Peggy  Oswald, 
Miss  Betty  Oswald, 
Miss  Sally  Woodrop, 
Miss  Molly  Oswald, 
Mrs.  Willing, 


Miss  Nancy  Willing, 
Miss  Dolly  Willing, 
Mrs.  M'llvaine, 

Miss  Betty  Gryden, 
Miss  Sally  Fishbourn, 
Miss  Furnell, 

Miss  Isabella  Cairnic, 
Miss  Pennyfaither, 

Miss  Jeany  Ktchardson, 
Mrs.  Eeily, 

Mrs.  Graydon, 

Mrs.  Itoss, 

Mrs.  Peter  Bard, 

Mrs.  Franklin, 

Miss  L.  de  Normandie, 
Miss  Phebe  Winecoop, 
Mrs.  Harkly. 


14 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


of  both  public  and  private  character  enjoyed  an  enviable  dictinc- 
tion.  The  name,  though  found  in  Germany,  has  become  nearly  ex- 
tinct in  England,  where  it  originated,  and  in  our  own  country  has 
hardly  been  known  out  of  Philadelphia.  The  family  has  however 
in  later  days  given  a member  to  the  peerage  of  Great  Britain,*  and 
the  wife,  first  of  a count  and  afterwards  of  a marquis,  of  France, f 
while,  without  any  title,  a third  has  illustrated  for  a long  time  the 
beauty  of  American  women  in  the  metropolis  of  Europe. 

The  first  of  this  family  of  whom  I have  heard,  although  I be- 
lieve it  is  traced  much  further,  was  Joseph  Willing,  of  Gloucester- 
shire, who  married  about  two  centuries  since  Ava  Lowre,  of  that 
county,  the  heiress  of  a good  estate  which  had  descended  to  her 
through  several  generations  of  Saxon  ancestors,  and  whose  arms  he 
seems  % to  have  assumed,  on  their  marriage,  in  place  of  his  own. 
Their  son  Thomas  married  Anne  Harrison,  a grand-daughter  in 
the  paternal  line  of  Thomas  Harrison,  § and  in  the  maternal  of 
Simon  Mayne.  The  former  was  a Major  General  in  the  Protector’s 
army  and  a member  of  the  long  Parliament ; the  latter  was  also  a 
prominent  actor  in  Cromwell’s  time ; and  both  were  members  of 
the  court  which  condemned  Charles  the  First  to  death.  Whether 
he  considered  this  part  of  his  ancestral  history  a good  title  to  con- 
sideration in  a country  settled  by  puritans,  in  the  “ dissidence  of 
dissent,”  or  whether  he  was  attracted  by  the  rising  commercial  glory 
of  this  country,  I am  not  sufficiently  informed  to  say ; but  having 
visited  America  in  1720,  and  spent  five  years  here,  Mr.  Thomas 
Willing  brought  his  son  Charles  over  in  1728  and  established  him 

* The  present  Lord  Ashburton,  great-grandson  of  Thomas  Willing  of  Philadelphia. 

f La  Marquise  de  Blaisel. 

J “ Sable  a hand,  couped  at  the  wrist,  grasping  three  darts,  one  in  pale  and  two  in  sallure, 
argent.” 

§ The  late  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  was,  I believe,  a descendant  of  Major  General 
Harrison,  of  Cromwell’s  army.  At  the  time  of  his  death  a copy  of  an  original  painting  of  the 
Protector’s  friend  was  just  completed  for  his  gratification. 


PEACE. 


15 


in  commerce  in  Philadelphia,  himself  returning  home.  Charles,  the 
first  who  remained  in  the  country,  may  therefore  be  considered  the 
founder  of  the  American  family.  Few  men  in  a private  station 
have  any  where  enjoyed  greater  influence  or  attained  to  a more 
dignified  respectability.  His  house,  still  standing  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Third  street  and  Willing’s  alley,  though  now  deprived 
of  its  noble  grounds,  running  back  to  Fourth  street  * and  far  onward 
down  to  Spruce  street,  and  shaded  with  oaks  that  might  be  regard- 
ed as  of  the  primeval  forests, f is  still  remarked  for  its  spacious 
comfort  and  its  old-fashioned  repose.  He  pursued  for  a quarter  of 
a century  with  great  success  and  with  noble  fidelity  to  its  best  prin- 
ciples the  profession  of  a merchant,  in  which  he  obtained  the  high- 
est consideration,  by  the  scope,  vigor  and  forecast  of  his  under- 
standing, his  great  executive  power,  his  unspotted  integrity,  and 
the  amenity  of  his  disposition  and  manners.  Toward  the  close  of 
his  life  he  discharged  with  vigilance,  dignity,  and  impartiality,  the 
important  functions  of  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  city,  in  which 
he  died,  respected  by  the  whole  community,  in  November,  1754  — 
just  one  century  ago  — at  the  early  age  of  forty-four.  His  wife 
was  Anne,  grand-daughter  of  Edward  Shippen,^  a person  of  com- 

* The  west  end  of  this  lot,  fronting  on  Fourth  street,  Mr.  Thomas  Willing,  son  of  the  person 
here  mentioned,  surrendered  to  his  son-in-law  and  nephew,  Mr.  Thomas  Willing  Francis,  who 
built  upon  it  the  beautiful  mansion  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll.  On  the  southern 
part,  Charles  Willing  himself  built  a residence,  which  has  since  given  place  to  other  buildings, 
for  his  son-in-law.  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  in  Virginia.  General  Washington  for 
some  time  had  his  head-quarters  at  Philadelphia  in  this  house.  It  was  afterwards  the  residence 
of  Chief  Justice  Chew. 

f The  now  venerable  buttonwood,  standing  in  front  of  the  old  mansion  at  the  corner  of  Third 
street  and  Willing’s  alley,  was  planted  in  1*749,  and  is  therefore  one  hundred  and  five  years  old. 

\ William  Shippen,  of  York,  gentleman,  had  three  sons,  1,  Robert,  rector  of  Stockport,  in 
Cheshire,  and  father  of  Robert,  Principal  of  Brazen  Nose,  Oxford,  2,  William,  a leader  in  Parlia- 
ment in  Robert  Walpole’s  time  (the  “downright  Shippen”  of  Pope),  3,  Edward,  born  in  1639, 
who,  having  by  the  death  of  his  brothers  inherited  their  estates,  came  to  America  in  16*72.  In 
1695  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  and  under  the  city  charter  ap- 
pointed in  1*701  the  first  mayor  of  Philadelphia.  From  1*702  to  1704  he  was  president  of  the 
governor’s  council.  He  died  in  1712,  leaving  a vast  landed  estate. 


16 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


manding  influence  in  the  early  history  of  Pennsylvania.  His  son 
was  Mr.  Thomas  Willing,  a man  whose  virtues  have  been  recorded 
with  a truth  and  eloquence  which  heighten  the  dignity  of  even 
such  a character  as  his.* 


Y. 

1 

In  all  civil  wars  men  of  hereditary  rank  and  fortune  are  apt  to 
adhere  to  the  established  authority,  and  this  was  eminently  true  in 
the  war  which  led  to  American  Independence.  The  loyalists  were 
in  a large  degree  people  of  good  condition,  accomplished  in  man- 
ners as  well  as  in  learning,  and  by  their  defection  the  country  lost 
many  persons  who  at  the  end  of  the  contest  would  have  been 
among  her  most  useful  citizens,  and  the  brightest  ornaments  of  her 
domestic  life.  The  Fairfaxes,  Galloways,  Dulaneys,  Delanceys, 
Robinsons,  Penns,  Phillipses,  Whites,  and  others,  if  of  the  Whig 
party  would  probably  have  been  even  more  distinguished  in  society 
than  in  affairs,  though  the  military  and  civil  abilities  which  some  of 
them  displayed  against  us,  or  in  foreign  countries,  showed  that  they 
might  have  nobly  served  their  fatherland  in  these  capacities,  and 
participated  with  the  most  successful  and  most  honored  of  her  faithful 
sons,  in  her  affections  and  her  grateful  rewards.  However  strongly 
influenced  by  considerations  of  justice,  many  of  them  must  have 
shared  the  feelings  attributed  by  Freneau  to  Hugh  Gaine,  on  dis- 

* The  following  inscription,  copied  from  a monument  in  Christ  Church  grounds,  Philadelphia, 
is  understood  to  he  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Horace  Binney : 

“In  memory  of  Thomas  Willing,  Esquire,  born  nineteenth  of  December,  1731,  O.  S.,  died  nineteenth  of  January, 
1821,  aged  eighty-nine  years  and  thirty  days.  This  excellent  man,  in  all  the  relations  of  private  life,  and  in  various 
stations  of  high  public  trust,  deserved  and  acquired  the  devoted  affection  of  his  family  and  friends,  and  the  universal 
respect  of  his  fellow-citizens.  From  1754  to  1807  he  successively  held  the  offices  of  secretary  to  the  Congress  of  Dele- 
gates at  Albany,  mayor  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  her  representative  in  the  General  Assembly,  President  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress,  delegate  to  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  President  of  the  first  chartered  Bank  in  America,  and 
President  of  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States.  With  these  public  duties,  he  united  the  business  of  an  active,  en- 
terprising, and  successful  merchant,  in  which  pursuit,  for  sixty  years,  his  life  was  rich  in  examples  of  the  influence  of 
probity,  fidelity,  and  perseverance  upon  the  stability  of  commercial  establishments,  and  upon  that  which  was  hts  dis- 
tinguished reward  upon  earth,  public  consideration  and  esteem.  His  profound  adoration  of  the  Great  Supreme,  and 
his  deep  sense  of  dependence  on  his  mercy,  in  life  and  in  death,  gave  him,  at  the  close  of  his  protracted  years,  the 
humble  hope  of  a superior  one  in  HeaveD.” 


PEACE. 


!? 


covering  that  he  had  connected  himself  with  the  losing  side.  One, 
a young  gentleman  of  Maryland,  who  held  a commission  in  the 
British  army,  after  the  war  was  over  addressed  from  London  to 
his  sister,  in  this  country,  a poem  on  the  subject,  in  which  there 
are  some  passages  of  generous  feeling  and  considerable  literary 
merit,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts,  in  which  he 
laments  the  mistake  so  fatal  to  his  happiness.  Referring  to  his 
sister’s  portrait  he  says  : 

“Me thinks  now  starting  from  my  trembling  hands, 

Kissed  into  life,  thy  glowing  image  stands, 

While  vivid  fancy  lends  me  power  to  trace 
The  strong  similitude  of  mind  and  face. 

I see,  enraptured,  how  thy  features  prove 
Thy  partial  fondness,  thy  fraternal  love. 

Those  languid  eyes,  all  eloquent  in  tears, 

Lament  my  absence,  and  attest  thy  fears — 

Those  generous  fears  which  have  too  plainly  shown 
A brother’s  sorrows  are  not  all  his  own ! . . . . 

“ Ah,  what  avails  it  that  in  early  morn 
Life’s  fragrant  roses  bloomed  without  a thorn  1 
That  on  my  youth  propitious  fortune  smiled, 

And  Hope,  illusive,  every  hour  beguiled ! 

Ah,  what  avails  it,  hut  in  me  to  show 

How  near  are  joined  the  extremes  of  bliss  and  woe ! . . . . 

Hot  twenty  summers  had  matured  my  prime 
When  civil  Discord,  nurse  of  every  crime, 

Inflamed  by  interest  and  by  rage  inspired, 

To  active  life  had  every  bosom  fired. 

Spurning  at  ease,  impatient  of  control, 

While  jocund  health  heat  vigorous  in  my  soul, 

To  loyal  arms  with  eager  haste  I flew, 

And,  in  my  sovereign’s  service,  early  drew 
A faithful  sword,  that  boldly  dared  oppose 
The  sons  of  freedom — then,  I thought,  her  foes ! 

“ Let  duller  mortals,  sensibly  discreet, 

Whose  callous  hearts  with  frigid  caution  heat, 

Whose  guarded  conduct,  cold  Discretion  guides, 

While  sober  Prudence  o’er  each  step  presides, 

With  nice  precision  dubious  currents  weigh, 

And,  as  the  scale  preponderates,  obey. 


3 


18 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


From  all  my  follies,  all  my  faults,  exempt, 

Beneath  my  pity,  as  beneath  contempt, 

Let  such  exult ! ....  In  either  war  or  love 
No  half-formed  passions  do  my  bosom  move ; 

But  nobly  daring,  when  the  die  was  cast, 

And  war’s  decree  within  my  country  passed, 

To  fly  from  Pleasure’s  fascinating  chains, 

Nor  waste  my  youth  in  dull  inglorious  scenes, 

Unswayed  by  interest,  unappalled  by  fear, 

My  actions  open,  and  my  purpose  clear, 

With  frank  avowal  was  that  course  pursued 
Whose  flattering  prospects  promised  public  good. 

But  had  I thought  that  Britain  hared  her  hand 
To  forge  a fetter  for  my  native  land, 

By  all  the  sacred  hosts  of  heaven  I swear 
My  country’s  welfare  should  have  been  my  care ! . . . . 

Let  those  who  know  mo  best,  my  thoughts  portray, 

And  flush  my  conduct  in  the  face  of  day ; 

Let  those  who  hate  me  most  with  truth  proclaim 
If  ever  yet  dishonor  stamped  my  name.” 

The  author  of  this  rare  and  curious  poem  appears  to  have  been  of 
the  party  of  loyalists  sent  into  Florida — 

“ To  guard  the  frontier  from  incursive  foes 
Where,  through  rich  canes,  the  rapid  Tensaw  flows, 

To  waste  whole  weeks  amid  a savage  hand, 

Wild  as  the  woods  and  worthless  as  the  sand ; ” 

and  finally  to  have  gone  to  London,  where  a course  of  dissipation 
injured  his  constitution,  and  made  indispensable  for  his  repose  the 
gentle  care  which  could  be  found  only  in  the  home  he  had  forfeited 
by  his  mistaken  loyalty.  Reviewing  his  gay  career  he  exclaims : 

“ Ah,  thoughtless,  careless,  in  the  transient  scene, 

When  coming  pain  should  dissipate  the  dream, 

When  Wisdom’s  slighted  precepts  in  my  breast 
Should  waken  fears  which  buoyant  youth  supprest. 

And  sad  Experience  should  this  truth  disclose, 

That  one  may  feel  the  thorn,  yet  not  enjoy  the  rose!  ” 


PEACE. 


19 


VI. 

The  most  celebrated  fete  ever  given  in  Philadelphia  was  that 
of  the  Meschianza,  during  the  revolution.  The  famous  Major  Andre, 
whom  writers  of  sentimental  verses  and  romances  have  represented, 
with  but  little  reason,  as  a very  Bayard  in  character,  left  an  interest- 
ing account  of  it,  which  has  frequently  been  published. 

The  nest  entertainment  in  the  city,  of  which  we  have  any 
very  minute  history,  was  that  given  on  the  occasion  of  the  birthday 
of  the  Dauphin  of  France,  by  the  French  minister,  after  the  close 
of  the  war.  Of  this  we  have  an  ample  description,  by  Dr.  Rush, 
who  was  present  with  his  family.  For  weeks  the  city  was  amused 
with  preparations  for  the  splendid  fete.  Hundreds  thronged  daily 
to  see  the  great  building,  erected  on  the  grounds  next  to  M.  Lu- 
zerne’s house,  for  a dancing  room.  Its  width  upon  the  street  was 
sixty  feet,  and  its  roof  was  supported  by  lofty  pillars,  painted 
and  festooned.  The  interior  was  finished  with  taste,  and  ornament- 
ed with  a profusion  of  banners  and  appropriate  pictures,  and  the 
surrounding  garden,  with  groves  and  fountains,  spacious  walks  and 
numerous  seats,  invited  guests  from  the  crowd  and  heat  of  the 
brilliant  hall,  to  rest,  or  for  pleasing  conversation.  For  ten  days 
before  the  event  nothing  else  was  talked  of  in  the  city.  The 
shops  were  filled  with  customers ; hairdressers  were  retained ; and 
tailors,  milliners,  and  mantuamakers,  seemed  to  have  in  their  keep- 
ing the  happiness  of  all  who  belonged  to  the  fashionable  world. 
The  anxiously  expected  day  at  length  arrived.  At  an  early  hour  a 
corps  of  hairdressers  took  possession  of  the  room  assigned  to  the 
city  watchmen,  and  so  great  was  the  demand  on  their  attention, 
that  many  ladies  were  obliged  to  have  their  heads  dressed  between 
four  and  six  o’clock  in  the  morning.  At  seven  o’clock  in  the  even- 
ing, the  hour  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  company,  it  was 


20 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


believed  that  the  streets,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  minis- 
ter’s house,  contained  more  than  ten  thousand  of  the  curious  and 
idle  men,  women,  and  children,  of  the  city  and  adjacent  country. 

“ At  about  eight  o’clock,”  says  Dr.  Rush,  “ our  family,  consist- 
ing of  Mrs.  Rush,  our  cousin,  Susan  Hall,  our  sister  Sukey,  and  my- 
self, with  our  good  neighbors,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry,  entered  the 
apartment  provided  for  this  splendid  entertainment.  We  were 
received  through  a wide  gate,  by  the  minister,  and  conducted  by 
one  of  his  family  to  the  dancing  room.  The  scene  now  almost  ex- 
ceeded description.  The  numerous  lights  distributed  through  the 
garden,  the  splendor  of  the  room  we  were  approaching,  the  size  of 
the  company  which  was  already  collected,  and  which  consisted  of 
about  seven  hundred  persons,  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  then* 
dresses,  and  the  band  of  music,  which  had  just  begun  to  play,  had 
together  an  effect  which  resembled  enchantment.  Sukey  Stockton 
said,  her  mind  was  ‘ carried  beyond  and  out  of  itself.’  Here  were 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  most  ancient  as  well  as  of  the  most 
modern  families.  Here  were  lawyers,  doctors,  and  ministers  of  the 
Gospel.  Here  were  the  learned  faculty  of  the  college,  and  among 
them  many  who  knew  not  whether  Cicero  plead  in  Latin  or  in 
Greek,  or  whether  Horace  was  a Roman  or  a Scotchman.  Here 
were  painters  and  musicians,  poets  and  philosophers,  and  men  who 
were  never  moved  by  beauty  or  harmony,  or  by  rhyme  or  reason. 
Here  were  the  president  and  members  of  Congress,  governors  of 
states,  generals  of  armies,  and  the  ministers  of  finance,  war,  and 
foreign  affairs.  The  company  was  mixed,  but  the  mixture  formed 
the  harmony  of  the  evening.  The  whole  assembly  behaved  to 
each  other  as  if  they  had  been  members  of  the  same  family.  It 
was  impossible  to  partake  of  the  joy  without  being  struck  with 
the  occasion  of  it : it  was  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  a Dauphin  of 
France.”  The  Doctor  indulges  in  some  agreeable  reflections 


PEACE 


21 


on  the  change  of  feeling  toward  France,  induced  by  her  recent 
assistance  against  Great  Britain,  which  this  imposing  festival  illus- 
trated and  confirmed ; and  he  then  proceeds  to  describe  the  groups 
into  which  the  vast  assembly  naturally  divided  itself.  “ Here,”  he 
says,  “were  to  be  seen  heroes  and  patriots  in  close  conversation 
with  each  other;  Washington  and  Dickinson  held  several  dia- 
logues together;  Rutledge  and  Walton,  from  the  south,  here  con- 
versed with  Lincoln  and  Duane,  from  the  east  and  the  north  ; and 
Mifflin  and  Reed  accosted  each  other,  with  all  the  kindness  of 
ancient  friends  ” At  half-past  eight  o’clock  commenced  the  danc- 
ing; at  nine,  there  was  an  exhibition  of  fire-works;  at  twelve,  in 
three  large  tents,  in  the  adjacent  grounds,  was  served  the  supper ; 
and  before  three  in  the  morning,  the  whole  company  had  separat- 
ed and  the  lights  were  extinguished. 

VII. 

The  famous  belle,  Miss  Vining,*  in  a letter  to  Governor  Dickin- 
son, in  1783,  complains  that  Philadelphia  had  lost  all  its  gayety 

* Miss  Vining,  in  1783,  was  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Miss  Montgomery,  in  her  “ Reminis- 
cences of  Wilmington,”  says  her  rare  beauty  and  graceful  form  commanded  admiration,  and  her 
intellectual  endowments — a mind  stored  with  historical  knowledge,  and  sparkling  effusions  of 
wit — entertained  the  literati  and  amused  the  gay.  The  singular  fluency  and  elegance  with 
which  she  spoke  the  French  language,  with  her  vivacity,  grace,  and  amiability,  had  made  her 
a general  favorite  with  the  French  officers,  who  praised  her  in  their  home  correspondence  to  such 
a degree  that  her  name  became  familiar  in  Paris,  and  the  queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  spoke  of 
her  with  enthusiasm,  to  Mr  Jjfferson,  expressing  a wish  that  she  might  some  time  see  her  at  the 
Tuileries.  The  intimate  friendships  she  formed  during  the  Revolution  were  preserved  after  the 
peace,  by  a large  correspondence  with  distinguished  men.  Lafayette  appears  to  have  been  very 
much  attached  to  her,  and  she  wrote  to  him  frequently  until  she  died.  Foreigners  of  rank 
rarely  visited  Wilmington,  after  Miss  Vining’s  retirement  from  the  society  of  Philadelphia,  with- 
out soliciting  an  introduction  to  her.  Among  her  guests  were  the  Duke  de  Liancourt,  the  Duke 
of  Orleans  (Louis  Philippe),  and  many  others;  and  it  is  related  that  General  Miranda,  passing 
through  the  town  in  a mail-coach,  at  night,  left  his  card  for  her  at  the  post-office.  The  death  of 
her  brother,  a man  of  eminent  abilities,  who  was  chosen  at  an  early  age  a member  of  Congress 
from  Delaware,  was  followed  by  a series  of  misfortunes,  and  retiring  from  the  gay  world,  in  the 
maturity  of  her  charms,  she  passed  the  closing  years  of  her  life  in  poverty  and  seclusion. 


22 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


with  the  removal  of  Congress  from  the  city,  but  adds,  “ You  know 
however,  that  here  alone  can  be  found  a truly  intellectual  and 
refined  society,  such  as  one  naturally  expects  in  the  capital  of  a 
great  country.”  Miss  Franks,  who  was  not  less  celebrated,  for 
her  wit,  and  the  dashing  gayety  of  her  manners,  agreed  with  Miss 
Vining  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  men  and  women  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  in  an  autograph  letter  of  hers  which  is  before  me,  written 
while  on  Long  Island,  and  addressed  to  her  elder  sister,  the  wife 
of  Andrew  Hamilton,  of  “Woodlands,”  west  of  the  Schuylkill,  she 
presents  us  with  a graphic  and  amusing  description  of  the  higher 
social  life  of  New  York,  with  the  contrasts  it  offered  to  that  in  her 
own  city.  This  letter,  though  so  long,  is  at  the  same  time  so 
unique  and  piquant  that  I copy  it  nearly  entire : 

. . . . “ You  will  think  I have  taken  up  my  abode  for  the  sum- 
mer at  Mrs.  Yan  Horne’s,  but  on  the  contrary,  this  day  I return 
to  the  disagreeable,  hot  town,  much  against  my  will,  and  the  in- 
clination of  the  family.  I cannot  however  bear  papa’s  being  so 
much  alone,  and  he  will  not  be  persuaded  to  quit  the  city,  though 
I am  sure  he  can  have  no  business  to  keep  him  there.  Two  nights 
he  staid  with  us,  which  is  all  I have  seen  of  him  since  I left  home. 
I am  quite  angry  with  him.  I have  written  you  several  times 
these  two  weeks ; so  you  can  have  no  cause  to  complain,  unless  it  is 
of  being  too  often  troubled  with  my  nonsense. 

“You  ask  a description  of  the  Miss  Van  Horne  who  was  noth 
me — Cornelia.  She  is  in  disposition  as  fine  a girl  as  ever  you  saw, 
with  a great  deal  of  good  humor  and  good  sense.  Her  person  is 
too  large  for  a beauty,  in  my  opinion,  and  yet  I am  not  partial  to 
little  women;  her  complexion,  eyes,  and  teeth,  are  very  good; 
and  she  has  a great  quantity  of  light  brown  hah*  (entre  nous , the 
girls  of  New  York  excel  us  Philadelphians  in  that  particular,  and 
iu  their  forms),  a sweet  countenance  and  an  agreeable  smile 


PEACE. 


23 


Her  sister  Kitty  is  the  belle  of  the  family,  I think,  though  some 
give  the  preference  to  Betsey.  . . . Kitty’s  form  is  much  in  the  style 
of  our  admired  Mrs.  Galloway,  but  she  is  rather  taller  and  larger — 
her  complexion  very  fine,  and  the  finest  hah’  I ever  saw.  Her 
teeth  are  beginning  to  decay,  which  is  the  case  with  most  New 
York  girls,  after  eighteen.  She  has  a great  deal  of  elegance  of 
manners.  By  the  bye,  few  ladies  here  know  how  to  entertain  com- 
pany in  then*  own  houses,  unless  they  introduce  the  card-table. 
Except  the  Van  Hornes,  who  are  remarkable  for  their  good  sense 
and  ease,  I don’t  know  a woman  or  girl  who  can  chat  above  half 
an  hour,  and  that  on  the  form  of  a cap,  the  color  of  a ribbon,  or 
the  set  of  a hoop,  stay,  or  jupon.  I will  do  our  ladies — that  is,  the 
Philadelphians — the  justice  to  say,  that  they  have  more  cleverness 
in  the  turn  of  an  eye,  than  those  of  New  York  have  in  their  whole 
composition.  With  what  ease  have  I seen  a Chew,  a Penn,  an 
Oswald,  an  Allen,  and  a thousand  others,  entertain  a large  circle 
of  both  sexes,  the  conversation,  without  the  aid  of  cards,  never 
flagging  nor  seeming  in  the  least  strained  or  stupid.  Here — or, 
more  properly  speaking,  in  New  York — you  enter  the  room  with  a 
formal,  set  curtsy,  and  after  the  how-dos,  things  are  finished ; all ’s 
a dead  calm  till  the  cards  are  introduced,  when  you  see  pleasure 
dancing  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  matrons,  and  they  seem  to  gain  new 
life.  The  maidens,  if  they  have  favorite  swains,  frequently  decline 
playing,  for  the  pleasure  of  making  love ; for  to  all  appearance  it  is 
the  ladies,  not  the  gentlemen,  who  nowadays  show  a preference. 
It  is  here,  I fancy,  always  leap-year.  For  my  part,  who  am  used 
to  quite  another  style  of  behavior,  I cannot  help  showing  surprise 
— perhaps  they  call  it  ignorance — when  I see  a lady  single  out  her 
pet,  and  lean  almost  into  his  arms,  at  an  assembly  or  a play-house, 
(which  I give  my  honor  I have  too  often  seen  both  with  the  mar- 
ried and  single),  or  hear  one  confess  a partiality  for  a man,  whom, 


24 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


perhaps,  she  has  not  seen  three  times:  ‘Well!  I declare  he  is  a 
delightful  creature,  and  I could  love  him  for  my  husband ! ’ one 
exclaims,  or,  ‘ I could  marry  such  a gentleman ! ’ Indeed  scandal 
says  that,  in  the  cases  of  most  who  have  been  married,  the  first 
advances  came  from  the  lady’s  side,  or  she  got  a male  friend  to 
introduce  the  intended  victim  and  pass  her  off.  This  is  really  the 
case,  and  with  me  ladies  thus  lose  half  their  charms.  I suspect 
there  would  be  more  marriages  were  another  mode  adopted : they 
have  made  the  men  so  saucy,  that  I sincerely  believe  the  lowest 
ensign  thinks  he  has  but  to  ask,  and  have, — that  a red  coat  and 
smart  epaulette  * is  sufficient  to  secure  a female  heart. 

“ I was  obliged  to  cut  just  as  I finished  the  word  heart ! Gen- 
eral Kobertson,  Commodore  Afflick,  and  Major  Murray  made  their 
appearance,  and  as  I was  writing  in  the  parlor  quite  en  dishabille, 
I was  obliged  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  out.  I am  glad  they 
came,  as  it  broke  my  ill-natured  train  of  ideas ; I am  quite  ashamed 
of  it ; there  is  too  much  truth  in  what  I have  written,  to  be  known, 
and  if  it  should  be  known,  I ’ll  throw  all  the  blame  on  you,  as  it  was 
owing  to  the  questions  you  asked  of  this  family,  which,  remember, 
I again  say  are  excepted  in  every  particular,  that  I describe  thus  the 
common  run  in  New  York  society. 

“ I shall  send  a pattern  of  the  newest  bonnets : there  is  no  crown, 
but  gauze  is  raised  on  wire,  and  pinched  to  a sugar  loaf  at  the  top, 
— the  lighter  the  trimming  the  more  fashionable — and  all  quilling. 
Nancy  Van  Horne  and  myself  employed  yesterday  morning  in  trying 
to  dress  a rag  baby  in  the  fashion,  but  could  not  succeed  ; it  shall 
go,  however,  as  it  will  in  some  degree  give  you  an  opinion  on  the 
subject.  As  to  the  jacket,  and  the  pinning  on  of  the  handkerchief, 
yours,  you  say,  reaches  to  the  arm.  I know  it,  but  it  must  be 

* This  was  written  before  the  evacuation  of  New  Tork  by  the  British,  and  Miss  Franks  was 
herself  already  engaged  to  a distinguished  British  officer. 


PEACE. 


25 


pinned  up  to  tlie  top  of  the  shoulders,  and  quite  under  the  arm,  as 
you  would  a girl’s  Vandyke.  The  fuller  it  sets  the  handsomer  it  is 
thought.  Nobody  ever  sets  a handkerchief  out  in  the  neck,  and  a 
gauze  handkerchief  is  always  worn  double,  and  the  largest  that  can 
be  got ; it  is  pinned  round  the  throat,  as  Mrs.  Penn  always  did, 
and  made  to  set  out  before  like  the  chitterling  of  a man’s  shirt. 
The  ladies  here  always  wear  either  a pin  or  a brooch,  as  the  men 
do.  Two  more  beaus ! Captain  Afflick  and  and  Mr.  Bidclulph,  the 
first  frightful,  and  the  other  very  genteel  and  clever. 

“ Lord  ! if  this  letter  is  seen,  I shall  be  killed  ! or  I must  fly  to 
you,  for  protection.  You  may  imagine  what  an  indifferent  I am, 
to  continue  writing,  with  beaus  in  the  room ; but  so  it  is ! I am 
not  what  I was. 

“You  ‘beg  to  know’  what  my  presents  are:  when  they  arrive 
I ’ll  tell  you.  They  are  on  board  Cooper  and  Miller’s  ship,  which 
Mr.  Wier  says  I must  not  expect  till  September.  How  provoking ! 
Aunt  Iiiclia  writes  me  word  by  the  last  packet,  or  rather  by  Oliver 
De  Lancey,  who  is  come  in  it,  that  by  him  I shall  have  a hand- 
some dress  cap,  of  Charlotte  De  Lancey’s  choosing,  and  two  pairs 
of  shoes.  The  shoes  came  with  her  letter,  and  I sent  post-haste  to 
town  for  the  cap,  but  did  not  get  it.  Mr.  De  Lancey  said  she 
talked  of  sending  it  by  him,  but  afterwards  thought  it  would  be 
safer  to  come  by  the  fleet ; so  that  in  September,  and  not  before,  I 
shall  be  fine  ! The  shoes,  or  rather  the  patterns  for  them,  are,  one 
pah*,  dark  maroon,  embroidered  with  gold,  and  the  other,  white, 
with  pink.  Charlotte  says  she  hopes  they  ’ll  be  wedlock  shoes — • 
which  I much  doubt.  The  dear  good  old  lady  seems  in  the  fidgets 
to  have  me  married ; I wish  she  herself  were  younger ; I ’d  cer- 
tainly recommend  him  to  her — she  seems  so  fond  of  him.  . . . 

“ There  is  so  much  talking,  I scarce  know  what  I write ; it  is  to 

a sister  however,  and  I hope  her  partial  eyes  will  not  permit  her  to 
4 


26 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


see  blunders,  or  if  slie  should,  that  her  kindness  will  find  excuses  foi 
them.  . . . The  letter  is  so  long  that  you  must  make  the  girls  take  a 
share  in  it,  as  I have  not  time  to  write  to  them  now,  and  there  is 
nothing  new  to  tell  them.  Tell  Peggy  Chew  I hope  she  ’ll  accept 
the  spangles  and  thread — ’t  is  the  only  return  I can  make  for  the 
pleasure  I receive  from  her  very  entertaining  letters.  Yesterday 
the  grenadiers  had  a race  at  the  Flat  Lands,  and  in  the  afternoon 
this  house  swarmed  with  the  beaus,  and  some  very  smart  ones. 
How  the  girls  would  have  envied  me,  could  they  have  peeped  in 
and  seen  how  I was  surrounded ! and  yet,  I should  have  been  as 
happy,  if  not  much  more  so,  if  spending  the  afternoon  with  the 
Thursday  party  at  "Woodlands.  I am  glad  to  hear  you  ’re  out 
there,  as  the  town  must  be  dreadful  this  hot  summer.  New  York 
is  bad  enough,  though  I do  not  think  it  as  warm  as  Philadelphia. 
Your  health,  in  punch ! The  Van  Hornes  join  with  me  in  begging 
to  be  remembered,  particularly  to  Mrs.  Harleston  and  her  mother : 
I hope  you  ’ll  visit  them ; do,  if ’t  is  only  on  Harleston’s  account, 
whose  memory  I ever  shall  respect.  I have  spent  happier  days  with 
him  than  I fear  I ever  shall  experience  again  ! If  you  tell  Billy 
Hamilton  I say  so,  he  ’ll  swear  I still  retain  a remainder  of  my  for- 
mer penchant ; but  assure  him ’t  is  only  a pure  and  lively  friend- 
ship. Letters,  this  moment,  from  you  and  Peggy  Chew,  and  one 
from  Mrs.  Arnold ! I must  stop  to  read  them.  . . Tell  Peggy  I give 
her  leave  to  read  all  I write,  if  she  ’ll  take  the  trouble.  I am 
happy  here ; tell  her ’t  is  only  for  a visit ; I wish  to  be  with  you.  . . 
Love  to  every  body.” 

This  letter  is  very  characteristic  of  its  author.  She  was  the 
youngest  of  three  daughters  of  David  Franks,  a wealthy  Jewish 
merchant  of  Philadelphia.  The  eldest  sister,  Phila,  was  married 
to  General  Oliver  De  Lancey,  who  soon  after  the  breaking  out  of 
the  revolution  accepted  a commission  in  the  British  army,  having 


PEACE. 


27 


previously  commanded  a New  York  regiment  during  the  war  with 
France.  The  second,  Abigail,  to  whom  the  above  letter  was  ad- 
dressed, was  the  wife  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  who  owned  the  finest 
rural  residence  in  Pennsylvania.  Rebecca  Franks,  soon  after  the 
war,  was  married  to  Lieutenant  General  Sir  Henry  Johnston,  and 
subsequently  resided  in  England.* 

VIII. 

The  most  ample  and  interesting  description  of  the  size  and  ap- 
pearance of  the  city  of  New  York,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  is  con- 
tained in  a discourse  published  a few  years  ago  by  William  Alexan- 
der Euer,  LL.  E.,  whose  father,  Colonel  William  Duer,  previously  and 
for  many  years  afterward  honorably  distinguished  in  affairs,  then 
resumed  his  residence  here.  Colonel  Duer  had  been  married,  at 
Baskenridge,  New  Jersey,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  1779, 
to  the  beautiful  Katherine  Alexander,  daughter  of  Lord  Stirling, 
and  the  two  children  referred  to  in  the  following  extract  are  the 
venerable  author,  who  lately  presided  over  Columbia  College,  and 
the  honorable  John  Duer,  who  continues  to  grace  the  bench  of  the 
Superior  Court. 

“ My  first  recollections  of  this  city,”  says  Dr.  Duer,  “ relate  to  a 
time  when  it  was  not  much  larger,  or  its  population  much  greater, 
than  the  additions  now  annually  made  to  them.  It  was  in  the 
month  of  November,  1783,  close  upon  the  evacuation  of  the  city 
by  the  British  forces,  and  the  entry  of  General  Washington  at  the 
head  of  the  American  army,  that  our  family  caravan  followed,  in 
true  patriarchal  style,  parents  and  children,  (as  yet  there  were  but 

* There  are  many  allusions  to  Miss  Franks  in  contemporary  letters  and  memoirs.  Her  wit 
was  not  particularly  commendable  for  its  delicacy,  and  she  was  sometimes  worsted  with 
weapons  like  her  own,  as  was  the  case  in  her  celebrated  encounter  with  General  Charles  Lee. 
The  reader  may  find  a pleasant  account  of  her  in  Littell’s  edition  of  the  Memoirs  of  Alexander 
Gray  don. 


28 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


two  of  us,)  man-servants  and  maid-servants,  and  a stranger  that 
had  been  received  within  our  gates.  We  had  landed  at  the  old 
Albany  Pier,  near  the  foot  of  Whitehall  street ; and  as  we  pursued 
our  course  upwards,  the  first  objects  that  arrested  my  attention 
were  the  dismounted  cannon  lying  under  the  walls  of  the  Old  Fort, 
or  Upper  Battery,  over  which  they  had  apparently  been  toppled 
by  the  British  soldiery,  in  the  wantonness  or  haste  of  their  depar- 
ture. The  first  view  of  these  pieces  of  ordnance  produced  some 
confusion  in  my  infant  mind.  We  had  arrived  from  West  Point, 
where  I had  been  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  artillery  in  various 
positions,  and  I sagely  concluded  that  we  had  put  back,  and  re- 
landed at  that  post.  But  I was  soon  undeceived.  Passing  the 
Bowling  Green,  with  a somewhat  triumphant  glance  at  the  pedes- 
tal in  its  centre  from  which  the  leaden  image  of  George  the  Third 
had  been  dethroned,  we  found  ourselves  advancing  into  the  Bv/rnt 
District , in  nearly  the  same  part  of  Broadway  which  was  more 
recently  the  scene  of  a similar  calamity.  It  extended  in  this  quar- 
ter— to  which,  however,  it  was  by  no  means  confined — up  both 
sides  of  Broadway,  to  Rector  street,*  with  the  exception  of  some 
half  dozen  houses  j*  left  standing  near  the  Lower  or  present  Bat- 

* The  great  fire  of  September  21,  1776,  commenced  at  the  Whitehall  Slip ; and  burned  all  the 
houses  on  the  east  side  of  the  slip,  and  the  •west  side  of  Broad  street  to  Beaver  street,  both  sides 
of  which  were  destroyed.  It  then  crossed  Broadway  to  Beaver  Lane,  (now  Morris  street,)  burn- 
ing all  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  Broadway  to  Rector  street  on  the  west,  and  some  few  houses 
in  New  street  on  the  east.  Besides  Trinity  Church,  (the  one  before  the  last,)  this  fire  destroyed 
a Lutheran  church  at  the  lower  corner  of  Rector  street,  where  Grace  Church  was  afterwards 
erected ; and  then  extending  in  the  rear  of  Trinity  Church  along  Lumber  street,  in  which  all  the 
houses  were  burned,  as  well  as  every  thing  in  the  rear  of  Broadway  to  Partition  (now  Fulton) 
street,  in  which  every  house  on  both  sides,  and  as  far  as  Mortlike  (now  Barclay)  street,  and  down 
to  the  North  River,  were  destroyed.  The  College  Yard,  and  the  vacant  ground  in  its  rear,  put 
an  end  to  this  conflagration,  in  which  about  five  hundred  houses  were  consumed. — See  Dunlap’s 
Hist.  ii.  78.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1778,  another  fire  broke  out,  in  the  night,  in  which  about 
three  hundred  houses  in  Great  and  Little  Dock  and  the  adjacent  streets,  were  destroyed. 

•jFrom  the  present  Nos.  1 to  11,  then  comprising  the  family  residences  of  Captain  Archibald 
Kennedy,  R.  N.,  afterwards  Earl  of  Cassilis;  John  Watts,  sen. ; Robert  R.  Livingston,  sen. ; John 
Stevens,  sen. ; Augustus  Van  Cortlandt,  Henry  White,  <fcc. 


PEACE. 


29 


tery.  No  visible  attempts  bad  been  made  since  tbe  fire  for  tbe  re- 
moval of  tbe  ruins ; and  as  tbe  edifices  destroyed  were  chiefly  of 
brick,  tbe  skeletons  of  tbe  remaining  walls  cast  tbeir  grim  shadows 
upon  tbe  pavement,  imparting  an  unearthly  aspect  to  tbe  street. 
Tbe  semicb’cular  front  of  old  Trinity  still  reared  its  ghastly  bead, 
and  seemed  to  deepen  while  it  hallowed  tbe  solitude  of  tbe  sur- 
rounding graves.  But  before  reaching  it,  tbe  gloom  was  cheered 
by  another  revival  of  my  military  impressions,  at  tbe  sight  of  some 
remaining  pickets  of  a stockade  in  tbe  lane  opposite  Yerlentenberg 
Hill,  which  once  formed  a portion  of  tbe  old  city  wall,  crossed 
Broadway  diagonally,  passed  down  tbe  opposite  street,  and  gave  to 
it  its  name. 

“ Turning  into  this  street  we  seemed,  at  last,  to  have  entered  a 
city  of  tbe  living.  There  stood  tbe  old  Presbyterian  meeting- 
house : not  that  which  lately  crossed  tbe  ferry  to  Jersey  City,  but 
its  rough-hewn  predecessor,  in  which  Whitfield  had  once  poured 
forth  the  torrent  of  his  eloquence,  and  whose  members  had,  in 
after  years,  been  refreshed  by  milder  and  more  fertilizing  streams 
flowing  from  the  bps  of  a Rodgers  or  a Miller.  There  it  stood,  in 
solitary  gloom,  to  which  the  turmoil  of  the  carrying  trade,  now 
driving  at  the  same  spot,  affords  the  liveliest  imaginable  reverse. 
Next,  at  the  head  of  Broad  street,  we  descried  the  City  Hall,  in 
its  primitive  nakedness,  forming  a still  stronger  though  not  more 
striking  contrast  to  the  Grecian  temple  which  has  succeeded  it. 
The  old  Hall,  before  its  conversion  to  the  use  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, stood  upon  open  brick  arches,  under  which  you  passed  from 
street  to  street  in  one  direction,  and  in  another,  along  the  same 
street  in  which  we  were  travelling.  Nearly  opposite,  was  the  mo- 
dest dwelling  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  upon  part  of  the  present  site 
of  the  Mechanics’  Bank.  Beyond,  at  the  intersection  of  Smith 
(now  William)  street,  we  beheld  the  effigies  of  a more  widely  cele- 


30 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


brate d but  not  more  illustrious  man ; there,  erect  upon  its  pedes- 
tal, was  the  statue  of  the  elder  Pitt,  mutilated  and  defaced,  in  resent- 
ment of  bis  speech  against  the  acknowledgment  of  our  Indepen- 
dence, in  a manner  more  evincive  of  the  patriotism  than  of  the 
good  taste  of  the  despoilers. 

“ Our  family  party  now  wheeled  to  the  left,  and  passing  up  Smith- 
street,  till  we  came  to  the  corner  of  King,  now  Pine  street,  we  took 
up  our  abode  for  the  winter  at  the  family  mansion  of  the  Phillipses,* 
then  kept  as  a lodging-house,  by  a respectable  matron  of  the  name 
of  Mercer,  but  afterwards,  before  its  fall,  more  renowned  as  the 
Bank  Coffee  House,  kept  by  the  inimitable  host  Mblo.  On  the 
next  May-day — that  day  devoted  by  our  Butch  ancestors  to  uproar 
and  removal — we  resumed  our  peregrinations,  nor  stopped  till  we 
arrived  at  the  upper  extremity  of  Broadway,  at  the  utmost  limit  of 
the  city  pavement,  where  we  took  possession  of  the  house  opposite 
St.  Paul’s  Chapel,  now  occupied  by  the  Chemical  Bank.  There 
was  so  little  choice  in  regard  to  situation,  that  we  were  fain  to  con- 
tent ourselves  with  this  remote  residence,  especially  as  the  house 

* Removed  within  these  few  years,  to  make  way  for  warehouses.  At  the  corner  immediately 
opposite,  was  the  residence  of  one  branch  of  the  Ludlows ; opposite  to  them,  in  Smith  street,  was 
that  of  the  Duyckincks.  Proceeding  northward,  at  the  corner  of  Little  Queen,  now  Cedar  street, 
was  a family  of  Beekmans,  directly  opposite,  John  Alsop,  a retired  merchant,  a delegate  to  the 
first  Continental  Congress,  and  father-in-law  of  Rufus  King,  who  afterwards  occupied  the  house 
for  several  years.  It  was  removed  some  time  since,  upon  the  extension  of  Cedar  street.  At  the 
southwest  corner  of  Crown,  now  Liberty  street,  was  the  famous  retail  hardware  and  fancy  shop 
— as  such  establishments  were  then  properly  called — of  Francis  Ogsbury,  continued  many  years 
afterwards  by  his  sons  and  successors.  Returning  to  King  street,  and  proceeding  southwardly, 
across  Wall,  and  down  Smith  street,  we  come  to  the  entrance  of  Garden  street,  in  which  stood  the 
“ little  Dutch  Church,”  the  oldest  in  the  city,  and  the  farthest  down  town.  At  the  upper  corner 
of  Smith  and  Garden  streets,  was  the  fashionable  haberdashery  of  Grove  Bend ; at  the  lower  cor- 
ner, the  residence  formerly  of  the  Clarksons,  and  afterwards  of  Colonel  Sebastian  Bauman,  the  post- 
master, a revolutionary  officer  appointed  to  that  station  by  General  Washington ; there  he  kept 
his  office,  as  did  his  successor,  General  Bailey.  Adjoining  were  the  Kembles,  and  opposite  the 
Costers.  Below,  opposite  Princess  street,  as  that  part  of  Beaver  street  was  then  called,  was  a 
branch  of  the  Van  Hornes,  and  in  that  and  the  small  streets  and  lanes  in  the  vicinity,  including 
that  part  of  Store  street,  then  called  Duke  street,  and  Hill  street,  in  which  was  their  synagogue 
— the  houses  were  principally  inhabited  by  the  Jews. 


PEACE. 


31 


itself  was  one  of  the  best,  as  well  as  one  of  the  few  to  be  rented  in 
the  city.  It  was,  to  be  sure,  not  very  convenient,  in  point  of  situ- 
ation, for  a town-house ; but  then  it  rejoiced  in  some  of  the  advan- 
tages of  a country  retreat.  The  fields  were  open  to  the  north,  as 
far  as  a line  ranging  eastwardly  from  Warren  street,  where  the 
prospect  was  bounded  by  those  more  useful  than  agreeable  objects 
the  Bridewell,  the  Poor  House,  the  Gaol  and  the  Gallows.  Towards 
the  west,  however,  there  was  nothing  to  obstruct  the  view  of  the 
North  Biver,  but  two  low  houses  at  the  corner  of  Yesey  street,  and 
the  College  building,  as  yet  unfurnished  with  wings,  and  unadorned 
with  stucco.  The  ‘ fields,’  as  the  area  comprised  in  the  Park  was 
then  called,  were  green,  but  neither  inclosed  nor  planted,  and  the 
only  trees  in  sight,  besides  the  young,  now  old  ones,  in  front  of  the 
College,  were  the  stripling  growth  that  peered  above  the  tea  and 
the  mead  and  cake  gardens,  along  the  west  side  of  the  fields. 

“ Although  the  streets  leading  from  Broadway  to  the  river  had 
been  laid  out  as  high  as  Warren  street,  yet  they  were  but  partially 
built  upon,  and  that,  for  the  most  part,  with  houses  of  an  inferior 
description.  None  above  Dey  street  had  been  regulated  and  paved ; 
nor  had  the  ridge,  commencing  near  the  Battery,  and  extending  the 
length  of  the  island,  been  dug  through  as  far  even  as  Cortlandt- 
street.  Great  Dock  street,  or  that  part  of  Pearl  between  White- 
hall and  Coenties  Slip,  with  the  other  streets  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  Fort  George,  within  which  was  the  colonial  Go- 
vernment-house, had  long  been  considered  the  court-end  of  the 
town ; * but,  even  before  the  Revolution,  Wall  street  was  regarded 
as  a rival  seat  of  fashion ; f to  which  it  established  an  exclusive 

* Here  were  the  residences  of  the  Van  Dams,  De  Lanceys,  Livingstons,  Bayards,  Morrises, 
Crugers,  De  Peysters,  and  some  others  of  the  provincial  notabilities. 

f In  Wall-street  were  the  Verplaneks,  Marstons,  Ludlows,  Winthrops,  Whites,  and  others,; 
who  being  tories,  remained  in  the  city  during  the  Revolution ; after  which  the  Whig  families  of 
Lamb,  Denning,  Buchanan,  Van  Horne,  Ac.,  got  in  among  them.  Here  too  Daniel  McCormick 
kept  his  bachelor’s  hall,  and  open  house,  and  Mrs.  Daubeney  her  fashionable  boarding-house,  for 


32 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


claim,  and  maintained  it  until  superseded  by  Park  Place  * or  Robin- 
son street,  as  it  bad  previously  been  called ; whose  pretensions  in 
that  respect  have,  in  their  turn,  become  nearly  obsolete.  Little 
Dock  street,  now  merged  in  Water  street,  and  that  part  of  the 
original  Water  street  which  lay  adjacent  to  the  Albany  Pier,  were 
occupied  by  the  river  trade  ; while  the  remainder  of  Water  street, 
and  such  parts  of  Front  street  as  had  already  been  recovered  from 
the  river,  formed  the  emporium  of  foreign  commerce.  This,  in- 
deed, was  the  case  as  far  up  as  the  Coffee  House  Slip,  and  gradu- 
ally extended  to  Maiden  Lane,  at  the  foot  of  which  were  the  Vly 
Market,  and  the  Brooklyn  Ferry ; whilst  at  the  head  of  it  stood 
the  Oswego  Market,  fronting  on  Broadway.  Above,  on  the  East 
River,  as  far  as  Dover  street,  the  wharves  were  chiefly  impi'oved 
by  our  eastern  brethren  with  their  cargoes  of  notions , or  occupied 
by  our  neighbors  from  Long  Island,  with  their  more  substantial 
freights  of  oysters,  clams,  and  fine  white  sand.  Beyond  Dover- 
street,  the  ship-yards  commenced,  extending,  at  first,  no  farther 
than  to  the  New,  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  Pike  Slip. 

“ Crossing  from  Dover  to  Great  Queen,  since  Pearl  street,  and 
pursuing  the  course  of  the  latter  beyond  its  intersection  with  Chat- 
ham street, f and  along  that  part  of  Pearl  then  called  Magazine- 

gentlemen  only , and  was  generally  filled  with  members  of  Congress  during  its  sessions  in  this  city. 
Greenleaf,  the  republican  printer,  planted  his  batteries  so  as  to  command  the  strong  hold  of  tory- 
ism,  at  the  corner  of  Pearl  street — under  Rivington,  of  the  Royal  Gazette — in  case  the  latter 
should  ever  recommence  his  fire.  But  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new  government,  and 
was  permitted  to  remain  in  his  bookstore,  (afterwards  the  auction  rooms  of  the  Messrs.  Hone,)  as 
did  his  fellow-laborer  and  neighbor,  Hugh  Gaine,  of  the  Bible  and  Crown,  who  after  the  di- 
vorce of  church  and  state  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  removed  the  royal  emblems  from  his  sign. 

* In  the  mean  time,  Cortlandt  street  enjoyed  an  ephemeral  reputation  for  fashion,  from  the 
presence  of  Sir  John  Temple,  Colonels  Duer  and  Walker,  Major  Fail-lie,  and  subsequently  the 
British  Colonel  Crawford,  who  had  been  Governor  of  the  Bermudas,  but,  on  a visit  to  New  York, 
married  the  widow  of  Robert  Cambridge  Livingston,  and  remained  here  till  he  died. 

f Near  the  head  of  Dover  street,  and  at  the  junction  of  Pearl  and  Cherry  streets,  stands  the 
old  family  mansion  of  Walter  Franklin,  a member  of  the  society  of  Friends,  and  an  eminent  mer- 
chant, whose  wealth  was  indicated  by  the  dimensions  of  his  dwelling.  The  late  Governor  De 
Witt*Clinton  married  one  of  his  daughters,  and  afterwards  occupied  his  house.  But  it  had  pre- 


PEACE. 


33 


street,  we  arrived  at  the  Kolch , or  Fresh  Water  Pond,  whence, 
through  the  ‘Tea- water  Pump,’  in  Chatham  street,  the  city  was 
supplied  with  water  for  domestic  use,  distributed  to  the  inhabitants 
by  means  of  carts  surmounted  by  casks,  similar  to  those  now  used 
for  mortaring  the  streets.  Nor  was  this  the  only  use  made  of  the 
‘ Collect,’  as  it  was  called  in  English ; its  southern  and  eastern  banks 
were  lined  with  furnaces,  potteries,  breweries,  tanneries,  rope-walks, 
and  other  manufactories  ; all  drawing  their  supplies  of  water  from 
the  pond.  Besides,  it  was  rendered  ornamental  as  well  as  useful. 
It  was  the  grand  resort  in  winter  of  our  youth  for  skating ; and  no 
person  who  has  not  beheld  it,  can  realize  the  scene  it  then  exhibited 
in  contrast  to  that  part  of  the  city  under  which  it  now  lies  buried. 
The  ground  between  the  Collect  and  Broadway  rose  gradually 
from  its  margin  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  feet,  and  nothing  can 
exceed  in  brilliancy  and  animation  the  prospect  it  presented  on  a 
fine  winter  day,  when  the  icy  surface  was  alive  with  skaters  darting 
in  every  direction  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind,  or  bearing  down 
in  a body  in  pursuit  of  the  ball  driven  before  them  by  their  Jiur- 
lies ; while  the  hill  side  was  covered  with  spectators,  rising  as  in 
an  amphitheatre,  tier  above  tier,  comprising  as  many  of  the  fair 
sex,  as  were  sufficient  to  adorn,  and  necessary  to  refine  the  assem- 
blage ; while  their  presence  served  to  increase  the  emulation  of  the 
skaters.” 

viously  been  rendered  more  illustrious  as  the  first  residence  of  General  Washington  in  this  city- 
after  his  election  as  President  of  the  United  States.  It  has  since  been  altered,  and  the  lower  part 
converted  into  shops.  In  the  rear  of  this,  in  Pearl  street,  was  the  Quaker  Meeting  House ; and 
this  quarter  of  the  city,  as  far  as  Chatham  street,  was  principally  inhabited  by  members  of  that 
society.  But  the  more  wealthy  ones  had  their  establishments  lower  down,  as  far  as  Maiden  Lane. 
Here  were  the  Pearsalls,  the  Pryors,  the  Embrees,  the  Effinghams,  the  Hickses,  the  Hawxhursts, 
the  Halletts,  the  Havilands,  the  Cornells,  the  Kenyons,  the  Townsends,  the  Tituses,  the  Willetts, 
the  Wrights,  &c.  &c.  Interspersed,  however,  with  their  residences  were  others,  equally  substan- 
tial, though  not  as  plain,  such  as  those  of  the  Waltons  and  Roosevelts.  The  Bank  of  New  York 
was  first  kept  in  the  larger  Walton  House,  and  its  first  President,  the  elder  Isaac  Roosevelt,  had 
his  dwelling  nearly  opposite. 


5 


34 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


IX. 

Washington,  meanwhile,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends; 
was  busy  with  his  long  neglected  private  affairs,  and  with  great 
plans  for  the  improvement  and  extension  of  inland  navigation,  un- 
til the  meeting  of  the  convention  for  forming  the  federal  Constitu- 
tion, of  which  he  reluctantly  consented  to  be  a member.  In  the 
beginning  of  1784  he  wrote  to  Lafayette,  “ At  length,  my  dear  Mar- 
quis, I am  become  a private  citizen  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac ; and 
under  the  shadow  of  my  own  vine  and  my  own  fig-tree,  free  from 
the  bustle  of  a camp,  and  the  busy  scenes  of  public  life,  I am  solac- 
ing myself  with  those  tranquil  enjoyments,  of  which  the  soldier, 
who  is  ever  in  pursuit  of  fame,  the  statesman,  whose  watchful  days 
and  sleepless  nights  are  spent  in  devising  schemes  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  own,  or  perhaps  the  ruin  of  other  countries,  as  if 
this  globe  were  insufficient  for  us  all,  and  the  courtier,  who  is  al- 
ways watching  the  countenance  of  his  prince,  in  hopes  of  catch- 
ing a gracious  smile,  can  have  very  little  conception.  I have 
not  only  retired  from  all  public  employments,  but  I am  retiring 
within  myself,  and  shall  be  able  to  view  the  solitary  walk,  and 
tread  the  paths  of  private  life,  with  a heartfelt  satisfaction.  Envi- 
ous of  none,  I am  determined  to  be  pleased  with  all ; and  this,  my 
dear  friend,  being  the  order  of  my  march,  I will  move  gently  down 
the  stream  of  life  until  I sleep  with  my  fathers.”  In  the  following 
August  Lafayette  revisited  this  country  and  passed  two  weeks  with 
the  Chief  at  Mount  Vernon ; and  when  he  was  gone  Washington  set 
off  on  horseback  to  see  his  lands  in  the  western  country,  travelling 
in  this  way  nearly  seven  hundred  miles,  along  the  routes  of  his 
earlier  military  experiences,  to  the  scene  of  Braddock’s  defeat,  at 
Fort  Du  Quesne.  What  a marvellous  book,  could  they  have  been 
recorded,  would  have  been  the  hero’s  reveries  and  dreams,  thus 


PEACE. 


35 


wandering  between  bis  own  great  history  and  germinating  empires 
in  which  “ the  free  spirit  of  mankind  at  length  ” should  throw 
its  fetters  off.”  After  his  return  he  again  saw  Lafayette,  who  had 
accomplished  an  extensive  tour  through  the  northern  states,  and 
been  every  where  greeted  with  fit  public  honors.  When  at  last 
they  turned  from  each  other,  at  Annapolis,  to  which  place  Wash- 
ington accompanied  his  departing  friend,  he  writes : “ I often  asked 
myself,  as  our  carriages  separated,  whether  that  was  the  last  sight 
I should  ever  have  of  you  ? and  though  I wished  to  say  No,  yet  my 
fears  answered  Yes.  I called  to  mind  the  days  of  my  youth,  and 
found  they  had  long  since  fled,  to  return  no  more ; that  I was  now 
descending  the  hill  I had  been  fifty-two  years  climbing,  and  that, 
though  I was  blest  with  a good  constitution,  I was  of  a short-lived 
family,  and  might  soon  expect  to  be  entombed  in  the  mansion  of 
my  fathers.  These  thoughts  darkened  the  shades,  and  gave  a gloom 
to  the  picture,  and  consequently  to  my  prospect  of  seeing  you 
again.  But  I will  not  repine ; I have  had  my  day.”  It  was  indeed 
the  last  meeting  of  Lafayette  and  Washington;  but  the  Chief  had 
not  yet  lived  his  day;  stormy  or  dark  or  splendid,  thus  much  of  it 
was  but  the  morning,  and  now  he  was  resting,  not  in  its  night,  but 
in  its  calm  though  clouded  noon ; and  new  toils,  different  and  not 
less  glorious,  awaited  him  before  the  serenely  magnificent  setting 
of  his  sun,  and  the  completion  of  the  vast  proportions  of  his  cha- 
racter, so  that  it  should  stand  not  alone  for  the  admiration  but  for 
the  loving  and  reverent  amazement  of  the  world. 

With  Governor  Clinton,  of  New  York,  Washington  proposed 
buying  the  mineral  springs,  at  Saratoga,  but  something  prevent- 
ed. His  old  companions  in  arms,  in  France,  were  very  anxious 
that  he  should  spend  a winter  in  Paris,  but  he  declined.  As  of- 
ten as  he  was  called  away  from  home  the  admiring  and  grateful 
people  greeted  him  with  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  ringing 


36 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


of  bells,  but  be  received  all  honors  modestly,  and  all  evidences  of 
affection  gratefully.  Houdon  came  from  France  to  model  his  sta- 
tue, and  Pine  from  England  to  paint  his  portrait,  and  Mount  Ver- 
non was  thronged  with  illustrious  guests  from  nlany  nations,  eager 
to  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  greatest  of  men,  who 
passed  his  days  and  nights  without  a thought  or  fancy  of  ambition, 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  farm  — the  happiest  of  men  as  well  as  the 
greatest.  There  is  nothing  in  all  history  more  respectable,  more 
dignified,  or  more  wonderful,  considering  the  common  infirmities 
of  human  nature,  than  those  four  years  of  Washington’s  retirement 
and  repose,  between  the  revolution  and  the  convention  for  forming 
the  federal  Constitution,  in  which,  as  if  it  were  a matter  of  course, 
he  was  called  to  preside. 


fHE  CONTENTION. 


i. 

And  now  it  becomes  necessary  to  ask,  Wliat  was  the  political 
condition  of  the  colonies  when  the  struggle  for  independence  at 
last  was  over?  In  the  language  of  Washington,  success  had  but 
afforded  the  United  States  “ the  opportunity  of  becoming  a respect- 
able nation .”  Feeble  indeed  had  been  the  chain  which  had  bound 
them  together  as  united  states  during  the  conflict;  its  strongest 
links  were  an  innate  hatred  of  tyranny,  and  the  external  pressure 
which  forced  them  to  coalesce.  Not  the  least  marvellous  feature 
in  the  story  of  the  Revolution,  is  its  ultimate  triumph  under  a sys- 
tem so  weak  and  inadequate  as  that  furnished  by  the  old  articles 
of  confederation.  In  other  hands  than  those  of  Washington  as 
commander,  and  Morris  as  financier,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whe- 
ther the  hour  of  triumph  would  then  have  come.  To  the  latter  of 
these  patriots  less  than  justice  has  been  done  by  some  of  his  own 
countrymen,  while  the  intelligent  and  observant  foreigner  who 
has  told,  in  Italian,  the  story  of  the  struggle,  with  a true  apprecia- 
tion of  his  worth,  has  said,  “ the  Americans  certainly  owed,  and 
still  owe,  as  much  acknowledgment  to  the  financial  operations  of 
Robert  Morris,  as  to  the  negotiations  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  or 
even  to  the  arms  of  Washington.” 


38 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


When  the  contest  began,  it  was  at  once  seen  that  a recognized 
anion  of  some  kind  among  the  colonies  was  essential.  From  New 
Hampshire  to  Georgia  there  was  indeed  the  same  proud  spirit, 
which  refused  to  brook  oppression ; brave  hearts  were  every  where 
roused  to  resistance,  and  strong  arms  were  every  where  ready  to 
strike : but  concentrated  and  harmonious  purpose  and  action  were 
indispensable.  The  sagacious  mind  of  Franklin  saw  this  at  once ; 
nor  was  he  now  for  the  first  time  alive  to  this  necessity.  If  he  had 
not  originated,  he  had  at  least  sketched  a plan  of  union  for  the 
colonies,  in  the  convention  of  colonial  delegates  at  Albany,  in 
1754;  and  this,  as  the  historian  has  remarked,  “was  the  first  offi- 
cial suggestion  of  what  grew  afterwards  to  be  our  present  federal 
Constitution.”  That  plan  was  rejected  by  the  colonies : the  time 
for  it  was  not  yet ; but  at  last  the  auspicious  period  had  arrived 
once  more  to  propose  a recognition  of  the  great  principle  of  confed- 
erated unity. 

As  early,  therefore,  as  the  summer  of  1775,  Dr.  Franklin  sub- 
mitted to  Congress  articles  of  confederation,  and,  in  a certain  con- 
tingency, of  perpetual  union  among  the  colonies : these  were  not 
then  finally  acted  on.  Had  they,  however,  been  adopted,  they 
would  have  united  the  colonies  in  a simple  league  only,  until  the 
terms  of  reconciliation  proposed  by  the  previous  Congress,  in  a pe- 
tition to  the  king,  should  be  agreed  to,  until  reparation  should  be 
made  for  injuries  done  to  Boston  and  Charlestown,  until  restraints 
upon  commerce  and  the  fisheries  should  be  removed,  and  until  all 
British  troops  should  be  withdrawn  from  America.  In  the  event 
of  refusal  by  the  crown  in  these  particulars,  the  confederation 
would  have  been  perpetual,  but  not  otherwise.  In  truth  the  feel- 
ing of  a majority  of  the  colonists  was  to  endure  as  long  as  possible, 
before  a final  rupture ; and  much  the  larger  portion  of  the  congress 
itself  would  have  rejoiced  in  an  honorable  reconciliation.  Some, 


THE  CONVENTION. 


39 


however,  there  were,  who  deemed  the  hope  of  such  an  event  en- 
tirely delusive,  and  indulged  in  no  visionary  expectations  of  mag- 
nanimity, forbearance  or  equity  from  the  mother  country. 

The  proposition  for  a confederacy  remained  unacted  on  until 
June,  ITT 6,  when  the  pressure  of  events  forced  it  into  notice.  Con- 
gress had  then  reached  the  resolution  of  declaring  America  inde- 
pendent, which  was  afterwards  embodied  in  the  memorable  docu- 
ment of  the  fourth  of  July,  1776.  This  resolution  imposed  upon 
that  body  the  necessity  of  such  a compact,  as  well  for  mutual  aid 
as  for  obtaining  foreign  assistance. 

On  the  eleventh  of  June,  therefore,  the  very  day  that  followed 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution  to  declare  independence,  a commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  frame  articles  of  confederation.  The  task 
allotted  them  was  one  of  delicacy  and  difficulty.  On  the  twelfth 
of  July  they  reported  a plan  consisting  of  twenty  articles.  In  that 
day,  the  men  to  whom  were  intrusted  the  destinies  of  the  country, 
had  no  scruple,  when  they  deemed  it  needful  for  the  country’s 
good,  to  keep  secret  their  doings,  until  the  proper  time  for  disclo- 
sure came.  They  did  not  affect  the  dangerous  liberalism  of  that 
mad  generosity  which  would  transact  all  public  business,  even  that 
purely  executive,  with  open  doors ; and  thus  communicate,  without 
scruple,  the  most  important  matters  of  state  to  foreign  powers,  which, 
in  their  negotiations  with  this  country,  take  good  care  never  to  re- 
ciprocate such  uncalculating  prodigality  of  communication.  They 
knew  that  there  was  a book  which  taught  them  there  was  a time 
to  be  silent,  as  well  as  a time  to  speak.  It  did  not  shock  the  repub- 
licanism of  these  early  senators  of  our  country,  to  print  but  eighty 
copies  of  them  plan  of  confederation,  and  to  bind  themselves,  their 
secretary,  and  them  printer,  alike,  to  an  inviolable  silence  as  to 
the  contents  of  the  paper,  and  to  lay  all  under  an  injunction  to 
furnish  no  person  with  a copy. 


40 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Had  they  pursued  any  other  course,  in  all  human  probability 
the  effort  at  confederation  would  have  failed  entirely : for  there 
were  conflicting  iuterests  to  be  reconciled,  so  diverse  from  each 
other,  and  habits  of  thought  and  action  so  very  different,  among 
the  men  there  assembled,  from  the  north  and  from  the  south,  that 
these,  added  to  the  gloomy  aspect  of  American  affairs,  would  have 
been  quite  sufficient,  had  the  public  been  invited  to  partake  in  the 
discussion,  effectually  to  close  the  door  against  the  possibility  of 
calmly  and  wisely  reconciling  differences.  As  it  was,  though  the 
plan  was  submitted  in  July,  1776,  it  was  not  until  after  repeated 
deliberations  that  it  was  finally  adopted,  in  November,  1777. 

And  what  was  the  plan  ? It  was  a league  of  sovereign  states, 
and  nothing  more.  We  can  but  sketch  an  outline.  It  recognized 
no  national  existence  of  the  colonies,  as  one  great  country,  united 
under  one  permanent  form  of  government.  True,  the  thirteen  states 
took  the  style  and  title  of  “ the  United  States  of  America,”  but  it 
was  only  to  enter  “into  a film  league  of  friendship  with  each 
other,  for  their  defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  mu 
tual  and  general  welfare ; binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other 
against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of 
them,  on  account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pre- 
tence whatever.”  And  it  was  under  no  stronger  bond  than  this 
voluntary  agreement,  that  our  fathers  went  through  the  war  of  the 
Revolution. 

As  to  the  details,  or  mode  of  operation  under  this  agreement, 
a few  particulars  will  suffice.  Each  state  expressly  retained  its 
sovereignty,  in  all  respects,  where  it  had  not  expressly  delegated  it 
to  the  Congress,  and  had  its  own  chief  magistrate  and  government. 
Each  state  raised  its  own  troops,  and  appointed  all  its  regimental 
officers,  the  whole  to  be  clothed,  armed  and  equipped,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  United  States.  And  when  the  Congress  had  declared 


THE  CONVENTION 


41 


the  proportions  of  taxes  to  be  paid  by  the  several  states  for  prose- 
cuting the  war,  each  by  its  own  legislature  was  to  lay  and  levy 
these  taxes,  thus  merely  declared  by  Congress,  which  possessed  no 
power  of  coercing  their  payment  by  distress  or  otherwise. 

As  to  the  Congress,  each  state  might  send  its  delegates,  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  seven,  chosen  annually,  with  a power  of 
recall,  at  any  time,  and  the  right  to  substitute  others : each  state 
had  one  vote  in  the  Congress. 

The  powers  of  Congress  were  such  only  as  were  necessary  for 
carrying  on  the  contest.  Thus,  to  this  body  belonged  exclusively 
the  right  to  make  war  or  peace,  to  receive  ambassadors,  to  contract 
foreign  alliances,  to  make  treaties,  provided  that  no  commercial 
treaty  should  abridge  the  power  of  the  state  legislatures  to  im- 
pose upon  foreigners  such  imposts  and  duties  as  their  own  people 
were  subject  to,  or  to  enforce  an  absolute  prohibition,  if  they  saw 
fit,  of  the  import  or  export  of  any  species  whatever  of  goods  and 
commodities.  They  had  power  also  to  commission  all  field  officers 
above  the  rank  of  colonel,  to  determine  what  number  of  land 
forces  was  necessary,  and  to  make  requisitions  on  each  state  for 
its  proportion ; and  they  might  issue  letters  of  marque,  and  build 
and  equip  a navy. 

There  were  other  powers,  but  this  enumeration  will  serve  to 
show  the  relative  general  position  of  the  Congress  and  the  states ; 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  two  great  elements  for  prosecuting  a 
war,  men  and  money,  as  to  the  first,  Congress  could  do  no  more 
than  fix  the  quota  of  a state  and  make  a requisition  on  its  author- 
ities, the  disregard  of  which  it  could  neither  punish  nor  remedy ; 
and  as  to  the  last,  Congress  could  indeed  say  what  was  the  propor- 
tion of  each  state,  but  had  no  power  to  enforce  its  payment.  The 
utmost  that  it  could  do  for  the  practical  accomplishment  of  objects 
the  most  important  was  to  recommend  and  entreat. 

6 


42 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


However,  with  such  a system,  independence  was  achieved,  but 
at  such  a cost  of  personal  suffering,  life,  and  individual  pecuniary 
ruin,  as,  while  it  almost  staggers  credulity,  should  enshrine  in  our 
hearts’  best  affections, ' the  memory  of  our  patient  and  heroic 
fathers.  And  beside  this  cost  of  life  and  property  to  individuals, 
there  was  also  a debt,  due  from  the  United  States  to  creditors  at 
home  and  abroad,  which  may  safely  be  stated  at  not  much  less 
than  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  The  whole  expense  of  the  war  had 
been  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  millions. 

Impoverished,  however,  as  was  the  country,  the  first  subject 
that  engaged  the  attention  of  the  people,  after  emerging  from  the 
war,  was  the  restoration  of  national  credit,  and  the  payment  of 
this,  to  them,  enormous  debt.  Congress  did  its  part,  in  recom - 
mending  taxes,  or  duties,  distributed  in  just  proportion  among  all 
the  states,  but  it  was  utterly  powerless  to  levy  the  taxes,  or  en- 
force the  payment  of  the  duties.  The  insufficiency  of  the  articles 
of  confederation,  as  a system  of  government,  became  every  day 
more  and  more  apparent.  There  was  no  longer  the  pressure  of  a 
common  danger,  and  the  oppressive  hand  of  tyranny  had  been 
shaken  off ; and  these  were  the  causes  which  had  given  strength  to 
the  bonds  of  the  federal  union.  The  minds  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  were  filled  with  gloomy  apprehensions  and  sad  forebodings. 
The  enemies  of  the  Revolution,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  had  pre- 
dicted that  the  success  of  America  would  prove  her  ruin,  for  that 
she  was  incapable  of  governing  herself;  and  they  were  now  se- 
cretly rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  a speedy  fulfilment  of  then*  pre- 
dictions. Many  true  men  almost  despaired  of  the  commonwealth. 
Washington,  in  1784,  wrote : “ The  disinclination  of  the  individual 
states  to  yield  competent  powers  to  Congress  for  the  federal  go- 
vernment, their  unreasonable  jealousy  of  that  body,  and  of  one  an- 
other, and  the  disposition  which  seems  to  pervade  each  of  being  all- 


THE  CONVENTION. 


43 


wise  and  all-powerful  witliin  itself,  will,  if  there  be  not  a change  in 
the  system,  be  our  downfall  as  a nation.  ...  I think  we  have  oppos- 
ed Great  Britain,  and  have  arrived  at  the  present  state  of  peace 
and  independency,  to  very  little  purpose,  if  we  cannot  conquer  our 
own  prejudices.”  In  1786,  that  able  and  eminently  pure  man,  John 
Jay,  thus  expressed  himself:  “Our  affairs  seem  to  lead  to  some 
crisis,  some  revolution,  something  that  I cannot  foresee  or  conjec- 
ture. I am  uneasy  and  apprehensive,  more  so  than  during  the  war. 
Then  we  had  a fixed  object,  and  though  the  means  and  time  of  ob- 
taining it  were  often  problematical,  yet  I did  firmly  believe  that 
justice  was  with  us.  The  case  is  now  altered.  We  are  going  and 
doing  wrong,  and,  therefore  I look  forward  to  evils  and  calamities, 
but  without  being  able  to  guess  at  the  instrument,  nature,  or  mea- 
sure of  them.”  Still,  his  trust  in  Providence  made  Mr.  Jay  hope- 
ful for  his  country.  “ That  we  shall  again  recover,”  he  says,  “ and 
things  again  go  well,  I have  no  doubt.  Such  a variety  of  circum- 
stances would  not,  almost  miraculously,  have  combined  to  liberate 
and  make  us  a nation,  for  transient  and  unimportant  purposes.  I 
therefore  believe  we  are  yet  to  become  a great  and  respectable  peo- 
ple ; but  when,  and  how,  only  the  spirit  of  prophecy  can  discern.” 
While  the  clouds  thus  thickened  in  the  political  atmosphere, 
a gleam  of  light  began  to  break  through  the  darkness.  It  came 
from  Virginia,  in  the  shape  of  a proposal,  which  her  position 
and  her  patriotism  alike  entitled  her  to  make.  In  1786  she  ap- 
pointed a number  of  gentlemen  to  meet  such  commissioners  as 
might  be  appointed  by  other  states,  to  consider  the  subject  of  the 
trade  and  commerce  of  the  confederacy,  and  adopt  some  uniform 
system  which  would  tend  to  the  common  interest  and  permanent 
harmony  of  all  the  states.  Soon  after  her  proposal,  commissioners 
met  at  Annapolis,  from  Virginia,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jer- 
sey and  New  York.  Delegates  had  also  been  appointed  by  New 


44 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina,  but 
they  were  not  present.  Nine  states,  however,  had  thus  shown 
their  sense  of  the  necessity  of  a convention — the  existence  of  a 
conviction  in  the  public  mind,  that  some  steps  must  necessarily 
be  taken,  in  concert,  to  avert  the  calamities  which  so  obviously 
threatened  the  country.  The  commissioners  who  were  present 
from  the  five  states  named  above,  were  naturally  unwilling  to 
engage  in  the  consideration  of  the  important  subject  confided  to 
them,  with  such  a partial  representation  of  the  old  confederacy, 
and  they  therefore  drew  up  a report  and  address  to  all  the  states, 
recommending  them  to  appoint  commissioners,  not  merely  to  delib- 
erate on  the  subject  of  commerce,  but  with  enlarged  powers,  “to 
take  into  consideration  the  situation  of  the  United  States,  to  devise 
such  further  provisions  as  should  appear  to  them  necessary,  to 
render  the  constitution  of  the  federal  government  adequate  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  Union.”  This  led  to  the  appointment  of  delegates 
from  every  member  of  the  old  confederacy,  except  Rhode  Island. 
These  are  the  historic  facts  connected  with  the  meeting  of  that 
august  and  dignified  body  of  men  who  framed  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  of  Amekica. 

II. 

Leaving  now,  for  a time,  the  beaten  path  of  historic  narrative, 
we  digress  to  speak  of  the  habits  of  the  people,  in  that  period, 
and  of  the  men  who  composed  that  memorable  convention. 

The  whole  number  of  members  in  the  convention  which  formed 
the  constitution  was  fifty-five,  and  an  Assemblage  more  dignified 
never  convened  to  transact  the  business  of  the  United  States.  It 
embraced  men  who  had  distinguished  themselves  in  the  field,  or  iu 
the  council,  and,  in  some  instances,  in  both.  It  embraced,  too,  all 
those  peculiarities  of  thought  and  manner  which  characterized  the 


THE  CONVENTION. 


45 


different  portions  of  the  country,  from  which  the  members  respec- 
tively came.  The  impress  of  local  manners  was  plainly  visible,  giv- 
ing a fixed  distinction  to  individuals.  The  man  of  New  England, 
with  strong  practical  common  sense  as  the  basis  of  his  character, 
had  the  gravity  and  conscientiousness  which  had  been  a part  of 
his  Puritan  education;  and  these  were  not  unmingled  with  the 
shrewd  worldly  wisdom  which  had,  of  necessity,  been  acquired  in 
a country  where  the  earth  yielded,  with  reluctance,  even  a small 
return  to  assiduous  labor.  Industry,  and  ingenuity  in  overcoming 
natural  difficulties,  had  been  part  of  his  training;  and  if  he  cau- 
tiously considered  before  he  made  a contract,  he  was  apt  honestly 
to  fulfil  it  to  the  letter  when  it  was  made.  Liberal  studies  had 
never  been  neglected  in  the  older  portions  of  New  England,  and 
therefore  she  could  furnish  men  of  high  intellectual  culture.  New 
England  too,  at  that  day,  like  other  parts  of  our  country,  recogniz- 
ed grades  in  society  now  unrecognized  and  indeed  unknown.  She 
had  what  might  be  called,  in  one  sense,  her  acknowledged  aristo- 
cracy, marked  by  a stateliness  of  manner,  and  a conformity  to  the 
rules  of  a prescribed  courtesy  in  social  intercourse.  This  aristocracy 
was  one  of  the  remnants  of  the  colonial  relations  from  which  she 
had  just  emerged.  Thus,  taking  Massachusetts  as  the  most  finished 
type  of  contemporary  manners,  all  who  held  office,  all  who  possess- 
ed wealth,  all  of  the  clerical  order,  and  all  who  had  family  connec- 
tions in  England,  were  members  of  the  gentry,  or  upper  class  of 
society,  in  the  towns  of  any  note ; while  the  gentry  of  the  interior 
were  those  who  owned  large  landed  estates,  held  -civil  and  military 
offices,  and  were  representatives  in  the  General  Court.  Many 
indeed  of  the  classes  here  named  had  been  driven  from  the  colony 
by  the  war,  but  many  also  remained  and  were  among  the  tried 
patriots  of  the  Revolution. 

The  habits  of  life,  polish  of  manners,  and  style  of  dress  were 


46 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


£he  badges  of  eminence  by  which  the  aristocracy  of  New  England 
asserted  its  outward  superiority.  If  a gentleman  went  abroad,  he 
appeared  in  his  wig,  white  stock,  white  satin  embroidered  vest, 
black  satin  small  clothes  with  white  silk  stockings,  and  fine  broad- 
cloth or  velvet  coat ; if  at  home,  a velvet  cap,  sometimes  with  a 
fine  linen  one  beneath  it,  took  the  place  of  the  wig ; while  a gown, 
frequently  of  colored  damask,  fined  with  silk,  was  substituted  for 
the  coat,  and  the  feet  were  covered  with  leather  slippers  of  some 
fancy  color.  Visitors  were  received  with  hospitality  and  graceful 
courtesy.  One  custom  prevailed,  which,  now,  would  greatly  shock 
the  New  England  sense  of  propriety : in  most  genteel  families,  a 
tankard  of  punch  was  prepared  every  morning,  and  visitors,  during 
the  day,  were  invited  to  partake  of  it — the  master  of  the  house 
sometimes  taking  the  vessel  from  the  cooler  in  which  it  stood, 
and  after  drinking  from  it  himself,  handing  it  in  person  to  the 
guests. 

There  was  a great  deal  of  social  intercourse  in  the  class  we  are 
describing.  The  interchange  of  dinners  and  suppers  was  frequent; 
at  the  first,  the  most  fashionable  hour  for  which  was  never  later 
than  three,  the  table  groaned  under  its  weight  of  provisions  ; after 
the  lastr  the  customary  evening  amusement  was  cards.  The  law 
expressly  prohibited  dramatic  entertainments,  but  they  had  con- 
certs, and  at  these,  in  Boston  at  least,  private  gentlemen  sometimes 
were  the  performers,  both  vocal  and  instrumental — simply,  how- 
ever, for  the  entertainment  of  their  friends.  Dancing  was  not  among 
the  things  which  the  legislature  had  made  mala  prohibita , and 
consequently  there  were  assemblies  for  this  recreation;  but  they 
were  conducted  with  such  severe  attention  to  propriety,  that  no- 
thing short  of  the  unanimous  concert  of  the  gentlemen  subscribers 
would  authorize  admission.  One  of  these  assemblies  would  make 
an  amusing  spectacle  at  this  time.  The  stately  minuet,  with  all  its 


THE  CONVENTION. 


47 


formal  and  high-bred  courtesy,  flourished  in  those  days,  and  was 
varied  only  by  the  contre  dance.  Cotillions  came  in  afterward,  with 
the  French  refugees  from  the  West  Indies.  The  style  of  the  dress, 
too,  for  gentlemen,  would  at  this  day  be  likely  to  attract  notice  in 
the  saloons  of  fashion ; but  coats  (of  velvet  or  cloth)  were  literally 
of  all  colors,  not  even  excluding  red,  and  sometimes  the  collar,  of 
velvet  or  cloth,  was  in  studied  contrast  to  that  of  the  other  parts. 

Marriages  and  funerals  were  most  ceremoniously  conducted. 
After  the  former,  the  newly  married  couple  made  no  bridal  tour ; 
and  instead  of  the  modern  “ at  home?  and  the  single  call  of  respect 
and  congratulation,  for  four  successive  weeks  the  bride  was  expect- 
ed to  receive  daily  the  visits  of  her  friends.  Public  notice  was  given 
of  funerals ; private  invitations  also  were  issued ; large  attendance 
was  expected,  and  long  processions  followed  the  dead  to  then*  last 
homes.  If  one  turned  from  these  scenes  of  private  and  social  life 
to  look  on  public  exhibitions,  the  same  stately  air  of  ceremonious 
dignity  was  still  visible.  If  you  entered  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court,  in  winter,  there  sat  the  judges,  each  in  his  robe  of  scarlet, 
faced  with,  black  velvet,  somewhat  like  the  costume  of  an  Oxford 
doctor  of  laws ; and  if  it  chanced  to  be  summer,  you  found  him  in 
a full  black  silk  gown. 

Leaving  this  hasty  sketch  of  the  fashions  of  that  age,  for  which 
we  are  indebted  to  an  eye-witness,*  we  pass  on,  if  the  friendly 
reader  will  take  us  as  a guide,  to  speak  familiarly  of  some  of  these 
New  England  men,  whom  we  will  imagine — for  the  Convention’s 
sessions  were  not  public  — to  be  seated  before  us  in  that  body. 
The  place  is  not  unfamiliar  to  some  of  the  men  thus  assembled. 
The  names  of  seven  of  them  appear  as  signatures  to  a document 
by  which  they  pledged  their  lives,  fortunes  and  honor  to  the 
support  of  a declaration  of  independence,  which  was  issued  from 


* Sullivan : See  his  Familiar  Letters  on  Public  Characters. 


48 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


this  same  chamber.  It  was  a bold  declaration,  made  at  a hazard- 
ous period,  but  the  pledges  of  life,  fortune,  and  honor,  were  nobly 
redeemed.  Eleven  years  have  passed  since,  and  now  they  have 
once  more  come  together  in  “ Independence  Hall?  to  deliberate 
on  a constitution  for  a nation  which  owes  its  existence  to  their 
bravery  and  fidelity.  Who  can  doubt  that  the  spot  awakens  in 
them  many  strong  emotions  and  stirring  associations  ? Our  space 
forbids  us  to  name  all  who  are  here,  and  we  therefore  beg  that 
our  omissions  may  not  be  construed  into  invidious  distinctions 
which  we  have  no  design  to  make. 

And  first,  who  is  that  individual,  of  such  uncommonly  handsome 
face  and  form,  and,  though  seemingly  but  little  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age,  possessed  of  such  remarkable  dignity  and  grace  of 
manner  ? He  has  the  appearance  of  one  whom  nature  has  stamped 
as  a gentleman.  It  is  Rufus  King,  who  has  been  sent  here  from 
Newburyport,  in  Massachusetts.  He  displays  great  elevation,  and 
indeed  seriousness  of  demeanor,  the  latter  seeming  hardly  consistent 
with  his  age,  which  is  but  thirty-three  years.  But  he  has  other 
qualities,  which  are  in  harmony  with  his  gravity.  He  is  a man 
of  much  and  severe  thought,  with  an  uncommonly  vigorous  mind, 
highly  cultivated  by  study.  Young  as  he  is,  there  is  not  an  indi- 
vidual here  who  will  speak  with  more  dignity,  or  utter  more  solid 
sense.  He  is  an  orator,  and  his  strong  characteristics  are  concise- 
ness and  force.  He  presents,  indeed,  a rare  combination  of  personal 
and  intellectual  endowments.  He  is  a lawyer,  but  has  served  his 
country  in  the  field  as  well  as  in  the  forum.  In  1778  he  was  one 
of  General  Sullivan’s  aids,  in  the  expedition  to  dislodge  the  British 
from  Rhode  Island. 

And  who  is  that  near  him,  of  middling  stature,  and  thin  per- 
son ? His  manner  is  courteous  toward  those  who  address  him,  and 
his  whole  appearance  very  gentlemanlike.  That  is  Elbridge 


THE  CONVENTION 


49 


Gerry : lie  also  lias  been  sent  here  by  Massachusetts.  In  all  ques- 
tions of  commerce  and  finance  his  wisdom  and  experience  will  be 
valued ; he  has  studied  them  carefully.  He  is  one  of  those  whose 
names  are  signed  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

But,  mark  that  tall  man,  with  the  somewhat  long  visage,  dark 
complexion,  and  blue  eyes.  His  hair  is  loose,  and  combed  over  his 
forehead,  and,  as  you  may  observe,  has  but  little  powder  in  it. 
The  expression  of  his  countenance  indicates  gentleness  and  kind- 
ness ; and  he  possesses  both,  yet  is  he  also  a man  of  inflexible  firm- 
ness and  adherence  to  principle.  He  neither  possesses  nor  affects 
the  polish  of  city  life ; but  not  a man  in  all  this  assembly  has  a 
more  unspotted  private  character ; and  few,  if  any,  have  stronger 
minds,  or  judgments  more  calm  and  dispassionate.  He  is  a fine  spe- 
cimen of  the  old  Puritan  character,  with  its  best  traits.  That  is 
Caleb  Strong,  also  from  Massachusetts. 

Let  us  look  for  men  from  other  parts  of  Hew  England.  Yon- 
der is  Langdon,  from  Hew  Hampshire.  He  has  not  had,  like  the 
Massachusetts  representatives,  the  advantages  of  Harvard,  nor  has 
he  mingled  much,  if  at  all,  in  the  Boston  circle  of  fashion ; yet  he  is 
worthy  of  the  place  assigned  him  here.  John  Langdon  is  the  son 
of  a Hew  Hampshire  farmer,  and  having  been  bred  to  mercan- 
tile life,  was  employed  in  commercial  transactions,  until  the  con- 
test commenced  with  the  mother  country.  At  that  period,  he 
was  a merchant  in  Portsmouth,  and  it  was  he,  who,  in  concert  with 
Sullivan,  and  under  his  leadership,  in  1*774  entered  Fort  William 
and  Mary,  and  carried  off  all  the  military  stores  of  the  British. 
It  was  John  Langdon,  too,  who  in  1777  furnished  means  to  call 
out  and  sustain  the  Hew  Hampshire  militia  under  Stark,  after  our 
loss  of  Ticonderoga.  So  we  may  thank  him  for  the  victory  at  Ben- 
nington. He  has  also  been  in  the  field  himself,  at  the  head  of  his 
Volunteers,  in  Vermont  and  Bhode  Island.  He  is  eminently  prac- 
7 


50 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


tical,  with  sterling  good  sense,  is  social  in  his  habits,  and  in  his 
manners  easy,  unaffected,  and  pleasing.  He  was  the  agent  in  New 
Hampshire  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  contracted  for  build- 
ing several  public  ships  of  war.  Among  all  before  us  there  is  not 
one  more  thoroughly  republican  in  his  feelings  and  tendencies  than 
John  Langdon. 

There  is  but  one  other  portion  of  New  England  represented 
here,  for  it  is  understood  Rhode  Island  has  sent  no  delegates.  There 
are  the  men  from  Connecticut,  three  in  number : not  far  from  the 
Massachusetts  delegation.  First,  we  will  speak  of  that  remarkable 
self-made  statesman  and  jurist,  Roger  Sherman ; he  is  one  of  those 
who  fearlessly  put  their  names  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
after  acting  as  members  of  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  it. 
That  tall,  erect,  well-proportioned  gentleman  is  he.  His  complexion 
is  very  fair,  and  his  countenance  manly  and  agreeable,  though  some- 
what grave.  Observe  too  his  dress,  remarkable  for  its  plainness, 
yet  as  remarkable  for  its  neatness.  He  is  consistently  religious,  and 
has  all  the  piety  of  the  best  Puritan  without  any  of  the  acerbity 
which  sometimes  accompanies  it.  He  is  indeed  an  extraordinary 
man,  or  he  would  not  be  where  we  now  see  him.  He  is  the  son  of 
a plain  Massachusetts  farmer,  and  never  had  any  other  advantages 
of  education,  m his  youth,  than  such  as  a common  township  school 
could  afford.  He  is  a striking  illustration  of  the  truth  that  every 
one  must,  in  a great  degree,  educate  himself.  He  was  a shoe- 
maker, and  worked  at  his  trade,  during  several  years ; but  he  was 
scarce  ever  seated  at  his  work  unless  with  some  book  lying  open 
before  him.  His  thirst  for  knowledge  was  intense.  He  never,  pro- 
bably, knew  an  idle  hour.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  went  to 
Connecticut,  carrying  his  tools  on  his  back.  He  is  now  forty-six 
years  old,  has  been  at  the  bar  several  years,  is  learned  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  for  some  years  has  been  a judge  of  the  highest  court  iu 


THE  CONVENTION. 


51 


Connecticut.  He  lias  clone  everything  for  himself.  His  reading 
has  been  extensive  and  varied,  and  few,  if  any,  here,  are  better  in- 
formed than  he  is.  He  is  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  of  two 
striking  characteristics:  he  has  great  practical  wisdom,  and  a 
knowledge  of  human  nature  that  seems  almost  intuitive.  He  is  no 
orator,  and  yet  not  a speaker  in  the  convention  is  more  effective ; 
the  basis  of  his  power  is  found,  first,  in  the  thorough  conviction  of 
his  integrity : his  countrymen  are  satisfied  that  he  is  a good  man , 
a real  patriot,  with  no  little  or  sinister  or  personal  ends  in  view ; 
next,  he  addresses  the  reason,  with  arguments,  logically  arrayed,  so 
clear,  so  plain,  so  forcible,  that,  as  they  have  convinced  him,  they 
carry  conviction  to  others  who  are  dispassionate.  One  would 
scarce  believe,  from  such  a description,  that  by  nature  he  possesses 
warm  and  excitable  feelings ; yet  such  is  the  fact ; he  has,  however, 
so  learned  to  control  his  passions,  that  he  is  habitually  calm,  sedate, 
and  self-governed,  mild  and  agreeable  in  society,  and  evinces  an  en- 
larged benevolence  towards  all  mankind.  There  is  not  here  a 
more  remarkable  nor  a better  man  than  Roger  Sherman. 

And  near  him  you  see  Oliver  Ellsworth.  He,  too,  belongs  to 
the  bar.  His  most  striking  qualities  of  mind  are  extraordinary 
quickness  of  perception  united  to  the  close  and  clear  reasoning  of 
an  accomplished  logician.  He  is  ardent  as  a speaker  and  often  elo- 
quent. He  possesses  great  purity  of  personal  character,  and  in 
private  life  no  one  is  more  beloved  for  his  virtues.  He  is  conspic- 
uous too  for  a manly  independence  of  thought,  perfect  fearlessness 
in  expressing  what  he  thinks,  and  great  firmness  in  maintaining  it. 
Remarkable  for  his  frankness,  he  neither  knows  nor  wishes  to  know 
the  arts  of  cunning , that  ready  weapon  of  little  minds.  No  man 
is  more  accessible : easy  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  he  exhibits 
in  his  intercourse  with  all  who  approach  him  that  best  species  of 
good  breeding,  the  natural  courtesy  of  a man  possessed  of  kindly 


52 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


feelings  and  great  good  sense.  He  is  one  of  the  most  unassuming 
individuals  here ; and  in  the  simplicity  of  his  dress,  equipage,  and 
mode  of  living,  he  furnishes  a good  example  of  a virtuous  and  con- 
sistent republican.  But  though  an  economist  in  personal  expendi- 
ture, he  is  a liberal  and  generous  contributor  to  all  useful  and  be- 
nevolent plans  to  help  his  fellow  men.  In  short,  he  is  a Christian 
gentleman. 

Are  there  any  other  New  England  men  here  ? a few ; but  your 
attention  will  be  called  to  but  one  of  them,  William  Samuel  John- 
son, also  from  Connecticut,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Rufus  King, 
probably  the  only  New  England  Episcopalian  in  the  house : for  the 
prevailing  form  of  religion  in  New  England  is  Congregationalism. 
He  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  Hr.  Samuel  Johnson  who  was  the 
first  president  of  King’s  College,  as  it  was  called,  in  New  York. 
This  gentleman,  however,  is  not  a divine,  but  a lawyer — an  emi- 
nent one — and  an  orator.  But  his  attainments  are  not  merely  pro- 
fessional; he  is  a man  of  science  and  literature.  He  resided  in 
England,  as  the  agent  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  and  was  there 
the  associate  and  companion  of  the  learned.  Though  differing  in 
his  political  views  from  the  literary  colossus,  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 
(for  he  is  thoroughly  an  American,)  yet  he  was  intimate  with  his 
celebrated  namesake,  and  mingled  in  the  literary  circle  of  which 
he  was  the  acknowledged  chief.  He  is  a highly  accomplished,  in- 
telligent, and  honorable  man,  and  well  worthy  of  a place  in  such 
an  assembly  as  this. 

New  England,  you  see,  has  sent  here  some  of  the  best  of  her 
sons.  She  has,  no  doubt,  as  worthy  ones  at  home,  but,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  she  has  any  worthier.  The  business  which  has 
brought  them  here  is  so  very  important,  that  the  selection  has 
been  made  with  reference  to  the  work  to  be  done,  and  New  Eng- 
land need  not  be  ashamed  to  point  to  her  representatives.  They 


THE  CONVENTION. 


53 


have  proved  themselves  to  be  men,  at  home,  before  this,  or  the 
practical  strong  common  sense  of  their  countrymen  would  never 
have  placed  them  here ; the  arts  of  the  demagogue,  the  tricks  of 
unscrupulous  political  profligacy,  and  the  senseless  shouts  of  an  ig- 
norant and  corrupt  favoritism,  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  elec- 
tion. They  are  in  this  convention,  simply  because  they  were  well 
known  by  their  every-day  associates,  to  be  “ good  men  and  true.” 
God  grant  it  may  ever  be  so  with  the  servants  of  the  Republic ! 

Now  let  us  look  to  some  of  the  delegates  from  the  Middle 
States.  First,  there  stands,  from  New  York,  Alexander  Hamilton. 
That  is  he,  with  such  a remarkably  expressive  face.  His  age  is  about 
thirty.  You  observe  that  he  is  one  of  the  smallest  men  here : in- 
deed under  the  middle  size,  and  thin  in  person,  but  remarkably 
erect  and  dignified.  His  hair  is  turned  back  from  his  forehead,  pow- 
dered, and  collected  in  a club  behind.  Mark  the  fairness  of  his 
complexion  and  his  rosy  cheeks.  Watch  the  play  of  his  singularly 
expressive  countenance : in  repose,  it  seems  grave  and  thoughtful ; 
but  see  him  when  spoken  to,  and  instantly  all  is  lighted  up  with 
intelligent  vivacity,  and  around  his  lips  plays  a smile  of  extraordi- 
nary sweetness.  It  is  impossible  to  look  at  his  features  and  not  see 
that  they  are  ineffaceably  stamped  by  the  divine  hand  with  the  im- 
press of  genius.  His  is  indeed  a mind  of  immense  grasp,  and  un- 
limited original  resources.  Whether  he  speaks  or  writes  he  is  equal- 
ly great.  He  can  probably  endure  more  unremitted  and  intense 
mental  labor  than  any  man  in  this  body.  So  rapid  are  his  percep- 
tions, and  at  the  same  time  so  clear,  that  he  seems  sometimes  to 
reach  his  conclusions  by  a species  of  intuition.  He  possesses  in  a 
wonderful  degree  that  most  unfailing  mark  of  the  highest  order  of 
intellect,  the  comprehensiveness  of  view  which  leads  to  accurate 
generalization.  He  catches  the  principle  involved  in  a discussion, 
as  if  by  instinct,  and  adheres  rigidly  to  that,  quite  sure  that  there- 


54 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


by,  the  details  are  certain  to  be  right.  Another  mark  of  eminent 
genius  is  continually  exhibiting  itself  in  the  striking  originality 
of  his  views.  There  is  nothing  commonplace  about  his  mind. 
Among  great  men,  any  where,  Alexander  Hamilton  would  be  felt 
to  be  great.  As  an  individual,  he  is  a frank,  amiable,  and  high- 
minded  gentleman,  who  inspires  his  friends  with  the  warmest  per- 
sonal attachment,  while  he  rarely,  if  ever,  fails  to  make  his  enemies 
both  hate  and  fear  him.  Perhaps,  however,  instead  of  this  sketch, 
it  had  been  enough,  in  the  beginning,  simply  to  say  that  he  once 
lived  with  General  Washington,  and  secured  his  affection  and  com 
fidence.  He  is  married  to  a daughter  of  General  Schuyler,  and  his 
wife  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  women  in  the  city. 

New  Jersey  has  a very  able  representative:  it  is  that  gen- 
tleman, so  plain  and  simple  in  his  dress  and  manners — William 
Livingston.  Not  a man  here  abhors  monarchical  government 
more  than  he.  He  is  one  of  the  most  forcible  and  elegant  writers 
in  this  assembly,  and  his  pen  has  been  often  used  in  vindicating 
the  rights  of  his  countrymen ; indeed,  it  is  said  that  the  influence 
of  his  writings  did  much  to  arouse  the  militia  of  New  Jersey  to  the 
feeling  which  caused  them  to  rally,  with  such  promptitude,  when 
any  alarm  called  the  people  to  array  themselves  against  the  enemy. 
The  British  hated  him  most  cordially,*  and  would  have  been  de- 

* On  one  occasion — the  twenty-eighth  of  February,  lYV 9 — an  attempt  was  made  to  capture  him 
at  his  house.  A party  of  British  troops  from  New  York  landed  at  Elizabethtown  Point,  pro- 
ceeded to  Liberty  Hall  (as  his  residence  was  named),  and  breaking  in  its  doors,  at  midnight,  cried 
out  for  the  “ damned  Governor  1 ” Livingston  had,  however,  left  home  several  hours  before,  and 
was  at  this  time  sleeping  at  a friend’s  house,  several  miles  away.  After  ascertaining  his  absence, 
the  officer  in  command  of  the  party  demanded  his  papers.  All  his  recent  correspondence  with 
Washington,  Congress,  and  the  state  officers,  was  in  a small  box,  in  the  parlor.  One  of  his 
daughters,  however,  with  great  presence  of  mind  appealed  to  the  officer,  as  a gentleman  and  a 
soldier,  representing  that  the  box  contained  her  private  property,  and  promising  that  if  it  were 
protected  she  would  show  him  what  he  wished.  A guard  being  placed  over  it,  the  men  were 
led  into  the  library,  where  they  filled  their  foraging  bags  with  old  law  papers,  of  no  value. 
After  many  menaces  of  violence,  and  of  setting  fire  to  the  house,  they  finally  departed,  without 
securing  the  only  plunder  which  would  have  rewarded  their  efforts. 


library 

, Of  THE 
UNIVERSIIY  Of  ILLINOIS 


THE  CONVENTION. 


55 


lighted  to  get  him  in  their  clutches.  He  handled  them  so  merci- 
lessly in  his  essays,  and  cut  them  so  sharply  with  his  invective 
and  wit,  that  they  would  gladly  have  put  him  out  of  the  way. 
He  has  great  powers  of  satire,  and  is  very  fearless.  He  is  proba- 
bly one  of  the  best  classical  scholars  in  this  body,  and  a very  good 
lawyer.  His  mind  is  strong  and  comprehensive,  and,  (an  unusual 
combination,)  he  adds  to  its  strength  a brilliant  imagination.  He 
is  a poet  of  no  mean  abilities,  and  his  literary  taste,  generally,  is 
highly  cultivated  and  refined.  He  is  thoroughly  republican  in 
politics. 

As  the  place  of  meeting  is  her  own  metropolis,  Pennsylvania  has 
more  representatives  here  than  any  other  of  the  states.  She  has 
no  less  than  eight : Virginia,  next  to  her  in  numbers,  has  seven. 
We  can  only  speak  of  a few  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation. 
There  is  the  old  philosopher,  whom  every  body  in  Philadelphia 
knows,  Benjamin  Franklin.  He  is  now  eighty-one  years  of  age, 
and,  like  Mr.  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  is  a self-made  man.  Like 
Sherman,  too,  he  has  a most  accurate  knowledge  of  human  nature. 
His  worldly  wisdom  is  probably  not  surpassed  by  that  of  any  man 
in  America.  He  is  no  speaker ; indeed,  very  seldom  attempts  to 
speak,  and  when  he  does,  disposes  of  the  question  before  him  with 
wonderful  brevity ; sometimes,  in  fact,  by  a single  sentence.  He 
never  wastes  words.  He  has  a most  happy  talent  of  illustrating,  by 
an  allegory,  or  reasoning,  by  means  of  a story,  the  application  of 
which  he  leaves  to  his  hearers.  He  is  always  cool  and  self-possess- 
ed. The  character  of  his  mind,  addicted  to  philosophical  research, 
and  the  incidents  of  his  earlier  life,  have  combined  to  make  him 
eminently  an  utilitarian.  He  considers  all  questions,  whether  of 
philosophy  or  politics,  with  reference  to  their  practical  bearing  and 
effect.  Hence  his  natural  tendency  is  thought,  by  some,  to  lean  too 
much  to  considerations  of  mere  expediency , in  his  acts  as  a states- 


56 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


man.  But  lie  is  by  no  means  indifferent  to  great  principles  involv- 
ed, and  lias  sliown,  too,  the  firmness  witli  wliicli  he  can  assert  them, 
regardless  of  all  consequences.  As  a philosopher,  he  commands, 
and  justly,  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the  whole  world.  What 
a crowd  of  thoughts  must  this  occasion  bring  to  the  old  man’s 
mind ! He  first  visited  this  city,  a friendless  printer’s  boy,  with- 
out an  acquaintance  or  a dollar ; and  now  he  is  one  of  the  great 
and  trusted  sons  of  the  commonwealth.  His  first  visit  to  London, 
where  Sir  William  Keith  let  him  go,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  without 
the  promised  letters  of  recommendation,  and  where,  by  the  exer- 
cise of  his  craft,  he  sustained  himself,  a poor  and  unknown  Amer- 
ican youth ; his  subsequent  visit  as  the  agent  of  Pennsylvania  ; his 
scientific  renown,  to  which  he  had  fairly,  and  unaided,  fought  his 
way,  attested  by  the  doctorate  conferred  upon  him  both  in  Edin- 
burgh and  Oxford ; his  examination  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  on  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act ; and,  above  all,  that 
memorable  period  in  1783,  when,  as  one  of  the  representatives  of 
the  United  States,  he  signed  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  which 
placed  his  country  among  the  independent  nations  ! And,  in  this 
hall,  he  must  experience  strange  and  mingled  emotions.  It  was  here 
that,  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1776,  when  all  looked  dark  enough, 
and  his  country  had  no  ally  but  our  Father  in  heaven,  he  put  his 
name  to  a document  which,  renouncing  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  perilled  all  he  had,  even  life  itself,  upon  the  unknown  issue ; 
and  now,  in  this  same  place,  he  has  come  to  assist  in  the  founda- 
tion of  a government  which,  eleven  years  ago,  he  solemnly  declared 
had  a light  to  be  free  and  independent.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest, 
if  not  the  oldest,  of  the  members  of  this  body ; he  has  passed 
through  more  strange  vicissitudes  than  any  of  his  present  asso- 
ciates, and  as  he  nears  the  grave,  this  must  be,  for  him,  a proud 
and  deeply  interesting  moment. 


THE  CONVENTION. 


57 


There  also  are  Robert  and  Gonverneur  Morris0  both  from  Penm 
sylvania,  though  of  different  families.  Robert  Morris  was  born  in 
England,  and  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  He  was 
bred  to  mercantile  pursuits,  and  his  financial  ability  contributed 
very  largely  to  the  successful  issue  of  the  revolution.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  doubted  whether,  but  for  him,  we  should  have  been  able 
to  continue  the  struggle.  He  often  pledged  his  personal  credit, 
which  was  great,  to  an  almost  incredible  amount,  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  means  to  carry  on  the  war.  One  instance — and  that  an 
important  one,  for  it  put  an  end  to  the  war — may  suffice  to  illus- 
trate this.  General  Washington,  who  had  contemplated  the  cap- 
ture of  New  York,  was  compelled  by  circumstances,  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly,  to  change  his  plans  entirely,  and,  secretly,  to  deter- 
mine rapidly  to  turn  his  arms  against  Cornwallis,  at  the  South. 
He  sent  for  Robert  Morris,  who  candidly  informed  him  that  he  had 
no  public  money,  but  would  be  obliged  to  resort  solely  to  his  per- 
sonal credit.  Nearly  every  thing  was  supplied  by  Morris ; he  fur- 
nished from  seventy  to  eighty  pieces  of  battering  cannon,  and  one 
hundred  of  field  artillery,  with  the  necessary  ammunition  and  other 
appurtenances,  and,'  by  the  end  of  three  or  four  weeks  from  the 
time  of  his  interview  with  Washington,  all  had  reached  the  gen- 
eral. And  this,  with  the  expense  of  provision  and  the  means  of 
paying  the  troops,  was  accomplished  solely  on  the  personal  credit 
of  Robert  Morris,  who  issued  his  own  promissory  notes  for  the 
enormous  amount  of  one  million  four  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
every  cent  of  which  was  duly  paid ; and  thus  was  Washington  en- 
abled to  force  Cornwallis  to  a surrender  at  Yorktown.  Morris’s 
financial  abilities  are  of  the  very  first  order,  and  these,  added  to  his 
character  for  integrity,  enabled  him  to  render  services,  which,  if 
less  conspicuous  than  those  of  the  brave  men  who  were  actually  in 
arms,  were  not  less  indispensable  to  the  achievement  of  indepen- 
8 


58 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


dence.  He,  too,  was  one  of  those  who,  in  this  hall,  eleven  years 
ago,  put  his  name  to  the  declaration  of  independence,  so  that,  you 
see,  he  is  well  entitled  to  he  here. 

Gouverneur  Morris  is  the  youngest  son  of  Lewis  Morris,  and  was 
born  near  New  York.  He  was  an  assistant  to  Robert  Morris  in 
the  superintendence  of  the  finances,  and,  after  the  war,  was  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  commercial  business.  His  knowledge  is  various, 
his  conversation  copious  and  eloquent,  and  he  will,  doubtless,  make 
a useful  member. 

Yonder  you  may  see  a gentleman,  of  the  middle  size,  erect  in 
his  person,  and  of  fair  complexion.  His  features  are  strongly  marked 
with  intelligence  and  benevolence,  but  there  may  also  be  seen  in 
them  resolution  and  firmness.  That  is  George  Clymer,  who,  on 
behalf  of  Pennsylvania,  was  one  of  the  immortal  company  of  the 
“signers.”  He  is  a man  of  warm  feelings,  very  ardent  in  his  af- 
fections, and  the  delight  of  the  social  circle.  He  writes  with  great 
care  and  accuracy,  but  seldom  addresses  a public  assembly ; he  is 
too  modest  and  diffident ; but  on  the  occasions  when  a sense  of  duty 
leads  him  to  speak,  he  is  listened  to  with  great  respect  and  atten- 
tion. His  speeches  are  always  short  and  to  the  purpose.  His  friends 
know  and  appreciate,  far  better  than  he  does  himself,  the  superior- 
ity of  his  talents.  He  never  has  sought  popularity,  or  courted  pre- 
ferment. There  is  a beautiful  simplicity  and  frank  honesty  in  his 
character.  He  has  some  traits,  which,  it  were  to  be  wished,  were 
more  general.  George  Clymer  was  never  heard  to  speak  ill  of  the 
absent,  nor  will  he  endeavor  to  traduce  men’s  characters  ; and  he 
is  most  punctilious  and  exact  in  fulfilling  any  promise  he  makes, 
whether  in  a great  matter  or  a small  one.  He  is  an  earnest  pro- 
moter of  every  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  his  country,  in  sci- 
ence, agriculture,  polite  learning,  the  fine  arts,  or  objects  of  mere 
utility.  He  is  a student  and  thinker,  has  a very  pure  heart,  and  no 


THE  CONVENTION. 


59 


man  present  is  more  ready  to  sacrifice  liimself  and  all  he  lias,  for 
the  sake  of  the  country. 

There  is  one  other  Pennsylvanian  whom  I must  point  out  to 
you.  I mean  Thomas  Mifflin.  He  is  of  Quaker  parentage,  and  liis 
ardor  of  feeling  and  patriotism,  prompting  him  to  engage  person- 
ally in  the  revolutionary  struggle,  led  that  peaceful  society  to 
“ read  him  out  of  meeting.”  On  the  organization  of  the  continental 
army  in  1775,  he  took  the  office  of  quarter-master  general,  and  thus 
shut  himself  out  of  the  society  of  “ Friends.”  They  but  adhered 
consistently  enough  to  their  avowed  principles,  and  he  adhered 
with  equal  constancy  to  his.  His  temperament  is  warm,  his  dispo- 
sition sanguine  and  his  habits  active.  Hence  it  may  be  that  he  has 
not  always  duly  appreciated  the  coolness  and  caution  of  a calmer 
temperament.  Some  have  supposed  that  he  once  thought  Wash- 
ington did  not  move  quite  fast  enough  ; if  he  did,  it  probably  re- 
sulted from  his  own  ardent  temperament,  and  not  from  personal 
ill-will  to  the  Commander-in-Chief.  He  was  the  President  of  Con- 
gress, at  Annapolis,  when  Washington  resigned  his  office,  and  the 
address  he  made  in  response  to  that  of  the  General,  did  honor  both 
to  his  head  and  heart,  and  bore  ample  testimony  to  his  sense  of  the 
surpassing  merits  of  the  great  man  whom  he  was  addressing.  Like 
most  persons  of  impetuous  feeling,  he  was  probably  taught  by  age, 
in  each  successive  year  of  its  progress,  more  and  more  to  appreciate 
the  sober  calmness  of  deliberation  before  action.  But  no  one 
doubts  the  patriotism  or  courage  of  Major  General  Mifflin. 

From  Delaware,  there  is  John  Dickinson,  a lawyer,  a part  of 
whose  professional  training  was  in  the  Temple,  in  London.  He  is 
an  admirable  writer,  and  his  pen  was  employed  in  behalf  of  the 
colonies  as  far  back  as  1765.  He  is  the  author  of  the  celebrated 
“Farmer’s  Letters,”  written  in  1767  and  1768;  and  he  wrote  also 
some  of  the  most  important  state  papers  issued  by  the  Congress  of 


60 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


17 74  and  those  immediately  succeeding : tlie  address  to  the  inha- 
bitants-of  Quebec,  the  first  petition  to  the  king,  the  address  to 
the  armies,  the  second  petition  to  the  king,  and  the  address  to 
the  several  states,  are  all  from  his  pen.  It  may  seem  strange  that, 
having  afforded  such  undoubted  evidences  of  patriotism,  he  should 
have  opposed,  in  the  Congress  of  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence. It  was  simply  however  on  the  ground  of  its  impolicy,  at 
that  particular  time.  lie  wished  the  terms  of  the  confederation 
to  be  settled,  and  foreign  assistance  to  be  certainly  secured,  before 
the  decisive  step  of  a declaration  should  be  made.  But  within  a 
few  days  after  it  was  made,  notwithstanding  his  private  opinion  of 
its  impolicy,  he  was  found  marching  with  the  army  to  sustain  it  in 
the  field;  and  it  is  curious  that  he,  who  had  openly  in  the  Con- 
gress of  1776  opposed  the  measure,  was  the  only  member  of  that 
body  who  immediately  marched  to  face  the  enemy.  His  constitu- 
ents, nevertheless,  were  dissatisfied  with  his  congressional  vote,  and 
another  was  elected  in  his  place.  This,  however,  could  not  destroy 
his  patriotism,  for  in  1777  he  was  serving,  as  a private,  under  Cap- 
tain Lewis,  with  his  musket  on  his  shoulder,  in  the  movements 
against  the  British  who  had  then  landed  at  the  head  of  the  Elk 
Biver.  In  1779  he  was  unanimously  sent  back  to  Congress.  You 
perceive  that  his  person  is  commanding,  and  his  countenance  a 
fine  one.  Of  his  abilities  no  one  doubts:  he  has  a highly  culti- 
vated mind,  refined  taste,  a very  large  fund  of  general  knowledge, 
and  an  habitual  eloquence,  with  polished  elegance  of  manners. 
He  is  a man  who  has  ever  been  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  for  his 
country. 

His  colleague  is  that  tall  and  carefully  dressed  gentleman, 
George  Read,  who,  like  Dickinson,  thought  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence premature,  yet  did  not  decline,  when  the  Congress  had 
adopted  it,  to  put  his  name  to  it.  He  too  is  a lawyer,  and  a true 


THE  CONVENTION. 


61 


patriot,  of  most  estimable  private  character.  No  one  more  steadily 
resisted  than  be  did  the  encroachments  of  tyranny. 

III. 

Before  we  call  attention  to  individual  southern  members  it 
may  be  well,  as  with  reference  to  New  England,  rapidly  to  advert 
to  some  of  the  leading  features  which  mark  the  state  of  society  in 
the  southern  states.  The  eastern,  middle,  and  southern  colonies, 
though  all  for  the  most  part  settled  by  Englishmen,  had  still 
distinctive  features,  by  which  each  section,  from  the  beginning,  was 
characterized.  For  the  South,  let  Virginia  and  South  Carolina 
serve  as  illustrations ; with  slight  modifications  the  picture  of  the 
first  is  that  of  Maryland,  while  that  of  the  last  is  applicable  to  the 
eastern  part  of  North  Carolina  and  to  Georgia. 

Virginia  had  long  possessed  an  aristocracy.  From  an  early  pe- 
riod of  her  settlement,  circumstances  had  contributed  to  its  creation, 
and  they  were  such  as  made  its  growth  unavoidable.  The  early 
emigrants  who  came  to  the  colony,  unlike  those  who  settled  in  New 
England,  were  prompted  by  no  spirit  of  disaffection  towards  the 
mother  country.  They  not  only  brought  with  them  all  the  feel- 
ings and  habits  of  England,  but  they  clung  to  them,  from  a delibe- 
rate preference.  The  monarchy  and  the  church  of  England  were 
never  objects  of  their  dislike.  The  fertility  and  vast  extent  of  the 
lands  lying  upon  the  numerous  streams  of  Virginia,  necessarily 
drew  attention  to  agriculture,  which,  in  the  absence  of  roads,  could 
find  no  means  of  transport  save  by  the  watercourses.  Hence  the 
original  settlements  were  almost  entirely  agricultural ; clearings 
were  made  and  plantations  settled  on  the  rivers,  and  no  towns  of 
any  importance  were  built.  Nor  was  it  difficult  for  the  more 
shrewd,  who  possessed  even  small  means,  to  become  large  landed 
proprietors.  Every  planter  who,  at  his  own  charge,  transported 
one  immigrant,  could  claim  therefor  fifty  acres  of  land ; so  that 


62 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


from  an  early  period  in  lier  colonial  history,  Virginia  possessed  a 
body  of  proprietors,  owning  very  large  tracts  of  land.  This  natu- 
rally scattered  the  population  over  an  extensive  surface,  and  retard- 
ed the  growth  of  towns. 

In  the  second  or  third  generation,  under  the  English  law  of  de- 
scent, these  cultivated  lands,  passing  from  sire  to  eldest  son,  had 
created  a class  of  “ first  families,”  and  the  education  of  the  country 
was  confined  to  this  class.  There  were  no  schools  for  the  masses 
of  the  people ; indeed  many  of  them  were  no  better  than  serfs,  for 
at  one  period  Virginia  was  made  a penal  colony : convicts  were 
sent  over  and  sold,  for  a time,  to  the  proprietors,  and  a regular  sys- 
tem of  kidnapping  prevailed  in  some  of  the  ports  of  England, 
which  consigned  to  temporary  servitude  in  America  men  who  had 
never  been  convicts  at  home.  A broad  line  of  distinction  was 
therefore  early  drawn  between  the  large  proprietors  and  the  com- 
mon people.  The  planter  had  his  tenants  and  serfs,  over  whom  he 
presided  with  a species  of  modern  feudal  sovereignty.  The  emigra- 
tion of  the  cavaliers,  from  England,  in  the  days  of  Cromwell,  did 
not  tend  to  diminish  this  landed  aristocracy;  and  though,  some- 
times, men  of  strong  natural  abilities  emerged  from  their  position 
in  the  inferior  classes,  and  became  perhaps  proprietors  themselves, 
yet  was  the  picture,  for  the  most  part,  such  as  we  have  sketched, 
of  a community  divided  into  two  great  classes  at  the  extremes  of 
the  civilized  social  state,  with  few  or  no  intermediate  or  middle 
men,  to  form  a class  between  them.  The  offices  of  the  country 
were,  of  course,  in  the  hands  of  the  aristocracy,  which  took  very 
good  care  to  retain  them  there,  and  the  “peasantry,”  as  they  would 
have  been  called  in  England,  or  working  men,  could  do  little  else 
but  attach  themselves,  somewhat  as  retainers,  to  the  fortunes  of 
then*  respective  patrons.  This  indirect  recognition  of  the  aristo- 
cracy, gave  to  it  its  chief  element  of  strength  ; for  as  the  existence 


THE  CONVENTION. 


63 


of  an  aristocratic  class  in  society  is  purely  conventional,  having  no 
natural  foundation,  it  is  obvious  that  if  the  people  do  not  choose 
to  recognize  it,  it  cannot  long  exist  at  all.  Perhaps  in  the  then  state 
of  the  Virginia  population,  it  was  best  that  it  should  be  so.  The 
proprietors  possessed  the  intelligence  necessary  to  manage  affairs, 
and  treated  their  humbler,  dependants,  (even  when  sold  to  them  as 
convicts,)  with  great  kindness,  and  regard  to  their  personal  com- 
fort. They  by  no  means  considered  them  as  slaves,  but  as  long  as 
the  people  left  them  in  the  undisputed  possession  of  an  acknowledg- 
ed superiority  and  right  to  direct  affairs,  they  in  turn  left  them  to 
entertain,  unchecked,  such  ideas  of  freedom  and  independence  as 
were  likely  to  develope  themselves  in  strong  men,  who  at  times  lux- 
uriated in  the  wild  liberty  of  nature  in  the  wilderness,  untrammel- 
led by  the  artificial  restraints  imposed  by  necessity  in  an  older  state 
of  society,  and  in  the  narrow  limits  of  a densely  crowded  popula- 
tion. There  was,  hence,  both  among  the  rich  and  poor,  a deeply 
seated  love  of  freedom  and  a spirit  of  independence. 

The  spirit  of  hospitality,  too,  from  the  very  beginning,  has  been 
boundless  in  Virginia,  and,  indeed,  throughout  all  the  old  southern 
states.  Necessity  may  be  said  to  have  contributed  somewhat  to 
make  it  so:  the  settlements  frequently  were  quite  remote  from 
each  other,  and  the  traveller  often  could  find  no  shelter  at  night, 
unless  he  obtained  it  under  the  roof  of  the  friendly  planter,  who 
would  have  been  pained  at  the  suspicion  that  he  either  expected 
or  desired  pecuniary  remuneration. 

It  is  quite  easy  to  see  how,  under  a system  such  as  this,  even 
with  all  its  unavoidable  imperfections,  some  of  the  noblest  traits  of 
human  character  would  develope  themselves.  On  the  part  of  the 
wealthy,  generosity,  kindness,  guidance,  and  support,  were  constant- 
ly called  forth  for  the  benefit  of  those  below  them  in  condition.  Ac- 
customed, too,  to  direct,  and  often  to  command,  (for  the  legitimate 


b4 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


power  of  the  country  was  in  their  hands,)  they  grew  up,  genera- 
tion after  generation,  with  a proud  spirit  of  personal  independence, 
on  which  was  naturally  engrafted  a high  sense  of  honor.  A Vir- 
ginian or  Maryland  gentleman  of  the  olden  time,  seated  on  do- 
mains that  spread  over  hundreds  of  acres,  and  living  in  what  was 
very  like  a baronial  state,  and  educated,  perhaps,  in  Europe,  pol- 
ished in  manners,  hospitable,  generous,  cordial,  manly,  “ with  high 
thoughts  seated  in  a heart  of  courtesy,”  was  a noble  specimen  of 
men.  When  the  revolution  commenced,  they  to  whom  this  de- 
scription would  apply,  soon  showed  themselves. 

If  we  turn  further  south,  the  picture,  in  many  of  its  aspects,  is 
still  the  same.  In  the  old  towns  at  the  east,  and  on  the  shores 
of  North  Carolina,  were  men  who  in  some  instances  were  large  pro- 
prietors, many  of  them  educated  and  trained  to  the  learned  profes- 
sions abroad,  filling  all  the  important  offices  of  the  colony,  as  high- 
toned  and  independent  as  any  men  on  the  continent.  To  these  the 
common  people  had  long  been  used  to  look  with  deference  and  re- 
spect ; and  these  swayed  public  opinion  in  the  East.  In  a broad 
belt,  at  the  West,  between  the  Catawba  and  Yadkin  rivers,  were  a 
sturdy  and  brave  race  of  yeomen,  known  as  the  “ Scotch  Irish  ” 
Presbyterians,  lovers  of  liberty,  from  their  very  cradles,  who  looked 
up  to  their  spiritual  teachers  and  the  leading  laymen  of  the  coun- 
try for  direction.  These  leaders  were  men  of  cultivated  minds. 
Frankness  and  fearlessness  were  the  characteristics  of  these  brave 
yeomen.  When  the  revolution  commenced,  no  men  answered 
more  promptly  at  the  first  call  of  their  leaders  than  the  common 
people  of  North  Carolina ; no  leaders  sounded  the  alarm  and  ut- 
tered the  call  sooner ; and  nowhere,  throughout  the  colonies,  did 
the  leaders  more  completely  possess  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
or  more  perfectly  control  and  sway  their  actions. 

In  South  Carolina,  it  was  very  much  the  custom  to  educate  the 


THE  CONVENTION. 


65 


sons  of  the  wealthy  at  the  English  universities ; and  those  who 
filled  the  liberal  professions  had,  in  many  instances,  studied  abroad, 
The  aristocracy  was  in  some  parts  of  South  Carolina  as  clearly  de- 
fined as  in  Virginia.  The  same  hospitality,  generosity,  and  high 
sense  of  honor  were  also  found  among  the  affluent  and  the  educated. 
In  casting  his  eyes  over  the  names  belonging  to  this  colony,  one  is 
struck  with  the  large  number  evidently  French.  These  belong  to 
those  who  descended  from  the  Huguenots,  driven  out  of  France  by 
the  superlative  folly  of  Louis  XIV.  in  revoking  the  edict  of  Xantes. 
Never  was  an  act  of  greater  madness  committed  by  a bigoted  ruler, 
and  never  was  there  one  which  more  effectually  wrought  its  own 
temporal  punishment.  The  infuriated  monarch  enriched  almost 
every  civilized  state  in  Europe  at  his  own  expense,  and  impover- 
ished France  by  the  loss  of  millions  in  trade,  and  thousands  of  her 
best  population.  Some  came  to  America,  and  the  largest  body  of 
them  found  a home  in  South  Carolina.  Here,  as  in  every  other 
land  where  they  found  an  asylum,  they  more  than  repaid  the  bene- 
volence which  sheltered  them,  by  their  piety,  their  skill,  and  their 
industry.  The  revolution  shows  many  South  Carolinian  Huguenot 
names.  They  were  all  patriots  in  that  desperate  struggle. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  from  this  sketch  that,  while  the  North 
and  South  alike  were  ready  to  peril  all  for  freedom,  and  while  from 
both  regions  there  were  many  specimens  of  “ nature’s  noblemen,” 
who  instinctively  understood  each  other  on  a very  brief  acquaint- 
ance, and  whose  sympathies  were  the  same  in  thought  and  action ; 
yet  were  there  several  particulars  in  which  some  differences  of  na- 
tional or  rather  provincial  character  were  perceptible  in  the  respec- 
tive inhabitants  of  these  two  regions.  The  northern  man  was 
cool  and  cautious,  the  southern  ardent  and  impulsive ; both  were 
brave,  but  if,  at  any  time,  either  was  rash,  it  was  more  likely  to  be 

the  son  of  the  South.  The  northern  man  parted  freely  with  his 
9 


G6 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


money  for  his  country’s  good,  but  first  required  that  he  should  be 
specifically  informed  for  what  precise  purpose  it  was  needed,  and 
calculated  exactly  how  much  would  suffice ; the  southron,  more 
prodigal,  gave  to  his  country  the  sum  that  was  named,  and  unless 
his  suspicions  were  aroused,  asked  no  questions  either  as  to  its  ap- 
propriation or  its  amount.  If  the  fate  of  war  had  reduced  the  colo- 
nies to  submission,  it  would  have  been  but  temporarily,  either  in  the 
North  or  South : but  the  latter  would  have  been  probably  involv- 
ed in  frequent  rebellions,  while  the  former  would  have  discreetly 
kept  quiet,  until  it  had  made  all  things  ready  and  saw  the  favor- 
able time  arrive,  and  then  would  have  rebelled  in  the  hope  and 
expectation  that  it  would  be  once  for  all. 

The  New  England  man  thought  but  little  of  the  gauds  and  va- 
nities of  the  world : he  was  a sober  Puritan ; the  southron  valued 
the  refinements  of  polished  life,  had  no  particular  objection  to  a 
certain  amount  of  personal  display,  prided  himself  somewhat  on 
the  graceful  courtesy  of  his  outward  bearing,  and,  in  his  worship, 
preferred  the  more  imposing  ceremonial  of  the  English  ritual.  His 
countrymen,  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  both  the  Carolinas,  had 
known  the  Church  of  England  as  the  established  and  prevailing 
religion ; for  the  most  part,  they  had  been  trained  in  it ; and  di- 
vesting it  of  its  established  character,  they  preferred  to  worship 
according  to  its  formularies. 

But  these  hints  must  suffice  to  indicate  the  differences  in  char- 
acter among  the  inhabitants  of  the  different  colonies.  It  was  wisely 
ordered  that  they  should  exist ; and  in  the  general  fusion  of  inter- 
ests, feelings,  and  manners,  they  all  perhaps  proved  beneficial. 

Let  us  go  back  to  the  Convention. 

We  have  from  Maryland,  Luther  Martin,  a lawyer  of  great  and 
commanding  powers.  And  here  too  is  John  Mercer,  a soldier  of  the 
revolution,  deservedly  respected  by  his  countrymen  ; and  McHenry 


THE  CONVENTION. 


67 


is  also  here.  But  without  meaning  to  detract  from  the  merits  of 
these,  we  will  pass  on,  to  look  at  one  to  whom  they  are  quite 
willing,  we  may  be  sure,  to  yield  precedence.  There  is  George 
Washington,  of  Virginia.  He  is  the  central  attractive  figure,  and 
wields  a mighty  moral  influence  over  these  statesmen,  not  un- 
like in  its  effects  that  which  he  exercised  over  the  officers  of  his 
army.  He  binds  them  into  union.  But  to  suppose  that  you  re- 
quire any  sketch  of  either  his  person  or  his  deeds,  is  to  imply 
a doubt  of  your  being  an  American.  George  Washington’s 
countrymen,  from  the  children  upward,  all  know  who  he  is,  and 
what  he  has  done.  His  is  a name  in  history,  which  good  and 
brave  men,  throughout  the  world,  will  not  let  die.  A common 
humanity  will  be  too  proud  of  it  ever  to  let  it  perish.  He  is  one 
of  the  few  whom  God  has  made  to  be  men  for  all  time.  We  love 
and  honor  him  now ; he  will  be  more  honored,  more  venerated  by 
future  generations.  We  are  too  near  him  to  mark  the  admirable 
and  exquisitely  adjusted  features  of  his  character  ; posterity,  stand- 
ing at  a greater  distance,  will  see  the  harmonious  and  massive 
grandeur  of  his  magnificent  and  finely  developed  proportions.  We 
can  only  belittle  him  by  praising  him  as  we  would  another  man. 
It  becomes  an  American  to  point  merely  to  his  deeds,  and  be  silent. 
The  world  will  do  the  rest. 

That  middle-sized,  venerable  looking  person,  whom  you  see,  is 
George  Wythe.  He  is  now  sixty-one  years  old,  and  in  many  re- 
spects a remarkable  man.  His  father  was  a farmer.  His  mother 
was  a woman  of  great  strength  of  mind,  and  of  attainments  very 
unusual  in  her  sex ; she  was  an  excellent  Latin  scholar,  and  is  said 
even  to  have  spoken  that  language  fluently ; she  taught  it  to  her 
son;  but  in  several  other  respects  his  education  was  somewhat 
neglected.  He  lost  his  parents  before  he  was  a man,  and  with  the 
thoughtlessness  of  youth,  uncontrolled  by  authority,  rushed  madly 


68 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


onward  in  a career  of  folly  and  dissipation.  The  force  of  his  char 
acter,  however,  may  be  appreciated  from  the  fact  that  he  did,  at 
last,  what  very  few  under  similar  circumstances  would  or  could 
have  done.  After  nine  years  of  dissipation,  he  reformed,  and  be- 
came a man  of  exemplary  sobriety  and  steadiness.  Lamenting 
most  deeply  the  time  irrecoverably  lost  by  his  folly  and  sin,  and 
deploring,  at  that  late  period,  the  want  of  that  learning  which  he 
might  have  acquired  during  those  misspent  years,  he  resolved  to 
redeem  the  future,  and  from  that  hour  devoted  himself  with  un- 
tiring industry  to  study.  He  taught  himself  Greek,  and  choosing 
the  profession  of  jurisprudence,  became  profoundly  versed  in  both 
the  common  and  civil  law,  and  thoroughly  learned  in  the  statute 
law  of  both  Great  Britain  and  Virginia.  No  longer  a thoughtless, 
dissipated  youth,  he  was  respected,  as  a wise,  sedate,  and  upright 
man,  of  marked  ability,  and  eminently  worthy  of  the  confidence  of 
his  countrymen  ; nor  was  it  long  before  he  stood  at  the  very  head 
of  the  Virginia  bar.  When  the  troubles  with  the  mother  coun- 
try first  began,  he  stood  forth  boldly,  and  encouraged,  if  indeed 
he  did  not  originate,  the  first  movements  of  opposition  in  Virginia. 
He  was  the  fearless  champion  of  liberty,  and  was  among  the  earli- 
est to  enrol  himself  in  the  ranks  of  her  volunteers.  His  influence 
and  example  undoubtedly  did  very  much  to  inspire  the  people. 
Before  the  war  actually  commenced  he  was  a member  of  the  Vir- 
ginia legislature,  and  speaker  of  that  body.  He  was  sent  in  17  *75 
to  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  one  of  those  who,  in 
1776,  put  then*  names  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  is 
now  Chancellor  of  Virginia,  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether,  in  this 
house,  there  is  a purer  or  a wiser  man.  His  now  long  continued 
habits  of  strict  temperance  and  regularity  of  life  have  given  him, 
as  you  see,  a healthy  old  age,  and  one  cannot  look  without  linger- 
ing on  his  manly  and  expressive  features. 


G=fl  tw*  i 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSE!*  Of  ILLINOIS 


NevrYarkJJ^petafi  4 C ° 346  A 346  bxc 


THE  CONVENTION. 


09 


He  is  perfectly  unaffected  and  simple  in  liis  manners,  as  modest 
as  lie  is  learned,  and  singularly  disinterested.  If  you  should  hear 
him  speak,  you  would  be  struck  by  his  logical  arrangement,  his 
chaste  language,  and  his  easy  elocution.  He  is  also  exceedingly 
courteous  in  debate.  He  is  not,  however,  what  would  be  termed  a 
brilliant  man.  His  mind  indeed  is  of  very  high  order,  but  not  the 
most  rapid  in  seizing  upon  the  prominent  points  of  a subject.  La- 
bor has  made  him  what  he  is.  Allow  him  time  for  consideration, 
and  then  will  appear  his  profound  penetration,  his  well-linked 
logic,  and  his  demonstrated  conclusion. 

And  here  is  another  delegate  from  Virginia.  I cannot  speak 
of  all,  but  may  not  pass  unnoticed  James  Madison.  He  is  now 
thirty-seven  years  old,  and  has  been  trained  as  a lawyer  by  Chan- 
cellor Wythe.  He  possesses  fine  talents,  and  is  remarkable  for  his 
close  reasoning.  Though  younger  than  many  here,  he  is,  notwith- 
standing, a worthy  companion  to  them,  for  his  views  and  attain- 
ments are  much  in  advance  of  his  years.  He  was  always  a thinker, 
and  is  a bold  and  forcible  speaker.  If  there  be  any  one  here  of 
whom  I would  say,  “he  never  was  a boy”  I think  it  would  be  Mr. 
Madison.  Virginia  considers  him  one  of  her  ornaments,  and  is 
justly  proud  of  him. 

Let  us  see  whom  we  have  here  from  North  Carolina.  There 
are  two  of  that  delegation  of  whom  we  will  speak.  First,  there  is 
William  Richardson  Davie.  Tall  in  person  and  well  formed,  he  is 
possessed,  as  you  perceive,  of  features  remarkably  handsome,  and 
strikingly  expressive  of  his  manly  nature.  His  voice  is  melodious, 
his  manner  dignified,  and  he  is  a very  accomplished  orator.  He 
has  been  a hard  student,  and  his  influence  is  great  in  North  Caro- 
lina. He  deserves  all  that  he  possesses,  for  he  is  one  of  the  tried 
patriots  of  that  state,  though  not  a native.  He  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, and  brought  to  this  country  by  his  father  at  a very  early  age. 


70 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


He  liad  a maternal  uncle,  the  Rev.  William  Richardson,  who  was 
one  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy  in  that  “ Scotch  Irish  ” settlement 
of  which  we  have  spoken  as  existing  in  North  Carolina.  This  un- 
cle had  no  children,  and  adopted  his  nephew,  who  afterward  inher- 
ited his  estate.  He  was  prepared  for  college  in  North  Carolina, 
and  afterwards  finished  his  studies  at  Princeton.  Here  his  patriot- 
ism first  broke  into  action.  He  was  one  of  that  party  of  stu- 
dents who  left  college,  with  the  consent  of  its  head,  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon, and  served  as  a volunteer,  near  New  York,  in  the  summer  of 
17  76.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  took  his  bachelor’s  degree, 
and  returned  home  to  study  law.  But  the  times  were  too  stirring 
to  allow  repose  to  such  a temperament  as  his.  In  1777  he  joined 
the  army,  and  was  ere  long  a major  in  Pulaski’s  legion  of  cavalry. 
From  this  time  onward  he  was  in  service  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  shared  in  most  of  the  battles  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Carolinas.  When,  after  the  defeat  of  Gates,  Cornwallis  attempted 
• to  overrun  North  Carolina,  it  was  Davie,  with  his  troops,  who  inter- 
posed between  the  British  and  our  retreating  forces,  and  kept  the 
former  at  bay,  compelling  them  at  last  to  retreat  to  South  Carolina. 
Three  times,  at  the  village  of  Charlotte,  in  Mecklenburg  County, 
with  an  inferior  force  of  mere  militia,  did  he  withstand  the  charge 
of  Tarleton’s  celebrated  cavalry  legion,  and  as  often  compel  it  to 
retire  in  disorder.  When  Greene  took  the  command,  he  besought 
Davie  to  become  commissary  general ; he  yielded  to  his  entreaties 
and  did  so ; and  it  is  not  saying  too  much  to  state  that  his  personal 
influence,  and  the  pledge  of  his  own  credit,  in  this  department, 
contributed  largely  to  save  the  South.  After  the  war  was  over,  he 
entered  on  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  lawyers  in  the  state. 

The  other  representative  to  be  named  from  North  Carolina  is 
Dr.  Hugh  Williamson.  He  is  now  a little  more  than  fifty  year’s 


THE  CONVENTION. 


71 


old.  He  was  originally  designed  for  tlie  ministry,  and  indeed  lias 
preached,  as  a licentiate  of  the  presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He 
never,  however,  had  charge  of  a congregation,  for  in  early  life  his 
health  was  delicate,  and  he  had  not  strength  for  the  duties  of 
the  pulpit.  He  became,  therefore,  professor  of  mathematics  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  a few  years  went  abroad  to 
pursue  medical  studies.  Pie  availed  himself  of  the  schools  of  Edin- 
burgh, London,  and  Utrecht,  in  which  last  he  received  his  degree, 
and  after  making  the  tour  of  Europe,  returned  home,  in  improved 
health,  and  practised  as  a physician,  in  Philadelphia,  for  several 
years  with  success.  His  health,  however,  again  failed  him,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  business.  He  employed  himself  in 
scientific  studies,  and,  together  with  Eittenhouse,  Ewing,  and  Smith, 
acted  on  a committee  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  to  ob- 
serve the  transit  of  Venus,  in  June,  and  that  of  Mercury,  in  No- 
vember, of  the  year  1769.  He  was  with  Dr.  Ewing  in  Europe,  in 
1774,  1775,  and  1776,  when  the  troubles  with  the  mother  country 
began,  and,  in  Holland,  first  heard  the  news  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  when  he  hastened  to  return  home.  The  medical 
staff  in  the  army  was  filled  up  before  his  arrival,  but  circumstances 
ere  long  called  him  to  Newbern,  in  North  Carolina,  and,  while 
there,  he  took  occasion  to  inform  the  governor  that  he  might  com- 
mand his  services,  if  at  any  time,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  he  could 
be  useful.  In  1780  the  state  raised  several  thousand  men  to 
join  the  army  for  the  relief  of  South  Carolina,  and  placed  them 
under  the  command  of  the  late  governor,  Caswell,  who  then 
held  the  rank  of  major  general.  This  gentleman  immediately 
claimed  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  Dr.  Williamson  had  made  to 
him,  and  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  medical  department 
of  the  troops  of  North  Carolina.  Thus  did  he  (though  by  birth  a 
Pennsylvanian,)  become  connected  with  that  state.  The  climate 


72 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


better  suited  his  constitution,  and  he  probably  considered  North 
Carolina  his  home.  He  was  sent  as  a member  from  one  of  the  bo- 
rough towns  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  was  elected  by  the 
legislature  to  the  Continental  Congress,  where  he  served  three 
years,  as  long  a time  as  the  law  allowed.  You  now  see  him  here 
He  is  a very  worthy  and  excellent  man,  of  much  observation  and 
extensive  attainments,  and  an  undoubted  patriot. 

But  let  me  call  your  attention  to  John  Rutledge,  of  South 
Carolina,  an  able  and  most  accomplished  gentleman.  He  is  of  Irish 
descent  on  his  father’s  side,  though  a native  of  the  state  which  he 
here  represents.  He  studied  law  in  the  Temple,  London,  and 
returning  to  Charleston,  commenced  practice,  so  far  back  as  1761. 
He  is  very  eloquent,  and  at  once  rose  to  the  first  rank  in  his  pro- 
fession. When  Massachusetts,  in  1764,  proposed  to  the  other  pro- 
vinces to  appoint  committees  to  meet  in  a Congress,  as  one  step 
toward  cementing  an  union,  it  was  John  Rutledge  who  induced  the 
assembly  of  South  Carolina  to  agree  to  the  proposal,  and  he,  with 
Christopher  Gadsden  and  Thomas  Lynch,  were  appointed  the  re- 
presentatives. He  was  the  youngest  of  the  three,  and  probably 
the  youngest  member  of  the  Congress  which  met  in  New  York  in 
1765.  He  was  but  some  twenty-seven  years  old.  The  North,  at 
that  time,  knew  but  little  of  the  South ; its  inhabitants  were  sup- 
posed to  be  indolent,  and  luxurious,  and,  at  any  rate,  but  little  was 
expected  from  such  a seeming  stripling  as  John  Rutledge;  he 
spoke,  and  sober  and  thoughtful  old  men  were  surprised  into  admi- 
ration and  respect  by  the  eloquence  of  the  young  representative 
from  South  Carolina.  His  power  over  his  constituents  is  very  great. 
When  news  of  the  Boston  port-bill  reached  Charleston,  expresses 
were  sent  over  the  state  to  call  a general  meeting  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. They  came,  and  it.  was  easy  to  induce  them  to  appoint  dele- 
gates to  a general  Congress ; but  then  came  propositions  to  instruct 


THE  CONVENTION. 


73 


them  how  far  they  might  go  in  supporting  the  Bostonians.  John 
Rutledge  rose  in  all  his  might;  his  subject  was,  “No  instructions  to 
the  representatives,”  but  full  authority  to  exercise  their  discretion, 
and  a pledge,  to  the  men  of  New  England,  that  South  Carolina 
would,  to  the  death,  stand  by  all  her  delegates  promised  for  her. 
Some  one  in  opposition  asked  what  should  be  done  if  the  delegates 
made  an  improper  use  of  this  large  grant  of  power  ? With  an 
energy  of  manner  which  was  in  itself  as  forcible  as  an  argument, 
the  clear  sound  of  his  voice  rose  above  the  listening  auditory,  and 
rung  out  in  his  short  words,  full  alike  of  decision  and  honesty, 
“ Hang  them?  The  impression  was  irresistible,  and  the  delegates 
went  without  directions  as  to  their  conduct,  ready  to  help  Boston 
to  the  full  extent  of  their  ability.  John  Rutledge  was  one  of  those 
delegates.  Washington  cherished  always  the  highest  estimate  of  his 
virtues,  and  he  referred  to  him,  while  he  was  himself  a member  of 
that  body,  as  the  greatest  orator  in  the  Continental  Congress.  He 
has  served  his  state  in  her  highest  offices ; she  has  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  his  patriotism,  talents,  decision,  and  firmness,  and  has 
now  sent  him  to  assist  in  making  a Constitution. 

But  here  is  another  worthy  son  of  South  Carolina,  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney.  He  also  is  a lawyer,  and  was  educated  at 
Westminster,  Oxford,  and  the  Temple.  But  he  is  a soldier  too,  and 
has  passed  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a soldier’s  life.  When 
his  country  needed  him  he  relinquished  law,  and,  girding  on  his 
sword,  took  the  field  as  a captain,  and  was  soon  promoted  to  a 
colonelcy.  The  danger  of  invasion  being  over  in  South  Carolina, 
he  joined  the  northern  army,  and  General  Washington  appointed 
him  one  of  his  aids.  He  fought  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown, 
and,  returning  to  the  South,  was  intrusted  with  the  defence  of  the 
fort  on  Sullivan’s  Island.  The  enemy  passed  without  attacking  it, 
when  he  instantly  hastened  to  Charleston  to  defend  the  lines. 

10 


74 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Here  he  was  made  a prisoner  of  war,  and  as  his  influence  and  en- 
ergy were  well  known,  he  was  treated  with  unusual  and  unmanly 
rigor,  in  order  to  crush  his  spirit,  and  intimidate  others.  Menaces 
and  promises  were  alike  resorted  to  to  corrupt  his  fidelity.  He  was 
unmoved  either  by  severity  or  temptations.  He  was  true  to  his 
country.  General  Washington  has  a very  high  opinion  of  him, 
and  he  deserves  it.  He  is  a man  of  fine  mind,  and,  as  a scholar, 
ranked  with  the  most  eminent  at  Westminster  and  Oxford. 

There  is  yet  another  from  South  Carolina,  of  the  same  name. 
This  is  Charles  Pinckney.  He  is  a gentleman  of  great  polish  of 
manners,  remarkable  colloquial  powers,  and  fervid  eloquence. 
Throughout  the  revolutionary  struggle  he  proved  himself  equally 
sagacious,  earnest,  and  unchangeable. 

Only  one  more  remains  of  whom  we  will  speak ; not  that  the 
remaining  characters  before  us  are  undistinguished  or  uninteresting, 
for  there  are  several  who  might  justly  claim  our  notice ; but  there 
is  danger  of  becoming  wearisome.  Here  is  Abraham  Baldwin,  a 
Connecticut  man,  but  now  a representative  from  Georgia,  in  which 
State  he  has  resided,  as  a lawyer,  for  many  years.  He  has  been  a 
representative  in  the  legislature  of  his  adopted  state;  and,  with 
the  aid  of  Mr.  Milledge,  may  be  said  to  have  induced  that  body  to 
found  the  university,  at  Athens.  He  has  also  been  a delegate  in 
the  Continental  Congress ; and  is  a faithful,  industrious  man,  of 
excellent  common  sense. 

We  shall  find  that  we  have  here  no  assemblage  of  common 
men,  but  that  the  convention  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  those 
who  have  had  experience,  and  have  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  talents  and  public  sendees.  In  the  very  first  assembly  of  the 
colonies,  held  at  Albany,  in  1754,  Dr.  Franklin  was  a member;  in 
the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  of  1765,  Dickinson  of  Delaware,  Johnson 
of  Connecticut,  and  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina  were  members ; in 


THE  CONVENTION. 


75 


the  Continental  Congress,  beginning  in  1774,  and  continuing  up  to 
1786,  no  less  than  eighteen  of  those  we  have  particularly  pointed 
out  — Washington,  Franklin,  King,  Gerry,  Langdon,  Sherman, 
Robert  Morris,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Clymer,  Livingston,  Dickinson, 
Read,  Mercer,  Wythe,  Madison,  Williamson,  Rutledge  and  Bald- 
win— sat  at  different  periods.  Of  these,  Franklin,  Wythe,  Sher- 
man, Read,  Gerry,  Robert  Morris,  and  Clymer,  signed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence ; and  so  also  did  Wilson,  who  is  here  from 
Pennsylvania — as  able  and  worthy  as  any  of  them,  but  of  whom  we 
had  not  time  to  speak  particularly.  The  fact  is,  there  are  but 
twelve  of  the  whole  Convention  who  have  not,  at  some  time,  sat 
in  the  Continental  Congress.  The  army  is  represented,  too,  for 
here  are  Washington,  Mifflin,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  and 
Hamilton ; so  that  we  may  well  call  this  an  assembly  of  our  most 
able,  most  tried,  and  most  patriotic  countrymen. 

Regarding  the  public  characters  who  presided  over  our  affairs 
during  the  stormy  period  of  the  war,  and  those  on  whom  is  de- 
volved the  yet  more  difficult  and  even  more  important  duty  of  cre- 
ating a system  of  government  for  the  republic  they  have  conducted 
to  independence,  we  cannot  refrain  from  a conviction  that  they 
were  specially  called  to  their  high  mission  by  an  all  wise  and  all 
beneficent  Providence.  The  extraordinary  intelligence  and  virtue 
displayed  in  the  Continental  Congress,  were  recognized  by  saga- 
cious and  dispassionate  observers  throughout  the  world ; Mirabeau 
spoke  of  it  as  a company  of  demigods ; and  William  Pitt,  the  great 
Earl  of  Chatham,  exclaimed,  “ I must  declare  that  in  all  my  read- 
ing and  observation — and  it  has  been  my  favorite  study : I have 
read  Thucydides,  and  meditated  the  rise  of  the  master  states  of  the 
world — for  solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom  of 
conclusion,  under  such  a complication  of  difficult  circumstances,  no 
body  of  men  can  stand  before  the  national  Congress  of  Philadel- 


76 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


phia.”  Those  who  were  greatest  in  the  revolutionary  congresses, 
with  many  others,  worthy  to  be  associated  with  them,  are  in  this 
ever  to  be  remembered  convention,  assembled  to  define  for  centu- 
ries, perhaps  for  ever,  the  just  limits  of  individual  liberty  and  pub- 
lic sovereignty.  They  will  not  fail  to  erect  a monument  which 
shall  separate  distinctly  all  the  Future  from  all  the  Past  in  human 
historv. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


i. 

That  august  assemblage  in  Philadelphia  to  which  was  confided, 
in  a larger  degree  than  ever  to  any  other  body  of  men,  the  desti- 
nies of  nations,  had  closed  its  sittings  and  adjourned;  the  great 
thinkers  and  the  great  actors  of  our  recent  history  were  at  their 
several  homes  waiting  the  decisions  of  the  states,  or  busy  with  pa- 
triotic passion  and  all  the  resources  of  reason,  in  advocating  the 
approval  and  adoption  of  the  constitution.  “ A nation  without  a 
national  government  is  an  awful  spectacle,”  wrote  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton; “the  establishment  of  a constitution  in  time  of  profound 
peace,  by  the  voluntary  consent  of  a whole  people,  is  a prodigy,  to 
the  completion  of  which  I look  forward  with  trembling  anxiety.” 

The  constitution  was  not  entirely  approved  by  any,  but  nearly 
all  were  willing  to  say  with  the  venerable  Franklin,  “ The  opinions 
I have  had  of  its  errors,  I sacrifice  to  the  public  good.”  With  the 
masses,  its  best  recommendation  was  that  it  bore  the  signature  of 
Washington,  of  whose  transcendent  wisdom  and  justice  there  was 
a subtle,  indefinable  and  almost  universal  appreciation  and  recog- 
nition. The  noble  Chief  shared  largely  of  the  common  anxiety  re- 
specting the  fate  of  the  system  of  government  formed  by  himself 
and  his  friends,  and  felt  a truer  joy,  we  may  believe,  when  at  length 


78 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


its  triumph  was  decided,  than  ever  had  warmed  his  heart  at  any 
victory  in  war. 

II. 

In  the  winter  of  1785,  the  Continental  Congress  had  adjourned 
to  New  York,  where  all  its  subsequent  sessions  were  held,  until 
the  organization  of  the  constitutional  government.  Mr.  Jefferson 
had  been  sent  to  fill  the  place  of  Franklin,  at  Paris ; Mr.  Adams 
was  in  London ; and  many  of  our  leading  characters,  in  affairs  or 
in  society,  were  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  in  the  public  service, 
or  in  pursuits  of  business  or  pleasure. 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  now  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  had 
already  commenced  his  diplomatic  career,  as  Secretary  to  Mr. 
Dana,  our  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg.  He  had  lately  returned, 
to  complete  his  academical  education  at  Harvard  College,  and 
before  visiting  his  friends  in  Boston  he  sent  back  to  his  sister,  in 
London,  an  account  of  his  first  impressions  of  society  and  politics 
in  New  York.  He  called  on  Mr.  Jay,  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  next  on  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick,  Mr.  Rufus  King,  Mr. 
Nathan  Dane,  and  other  delegates  in  Congress  from  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Gerry,  he  says,  was  glad  to  see  him,  on  account  of  friendship 
for  his  father ; and  Mr.  King  was  very  polite.  They  went  with 
him  to  call  on  the  President,  Mi*.  Lee,  who  inquired  with  the  kindest 
particularity  concerning  the  ambassador.  He  also  waited  on  Go- 
vernor Clinton,  and  the  Spanish  minister,  Don  Diego  Gardoqui. 
The  next  day  President  Lee,  who  met  him  at  a breakfast  party  at 
Mr.  Gerry’s,  invited  him  to  take  an  apartment  in  his  house ; he  en- 
deavored to  excuse  himself,  as  well  as  he  could,  but  the  invitation 
being  renewed  at  dinner,  he  consented,  rather  reluctantly,  being 
doubtful  whether  his  course  would  be  altogether  pleasing  to  his 
father,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  real  object  of  the  attentions 


THE  YEAH  OE  SUSPENSE. 


79 


offered  to  him.  The  President  entertained  three  times  a week,  but 
never  invited  ladies,  because  there  were  none  in  his  own  house. 
His  health  was  not  very  good.  “ I believe  the  duties  of  his  office 
weary  him  much,”  Adams  writes  ; “ he  is  obliged,  in  this  weather, 
to  sit  in  Congress  from  eleven  in  the  morning  until  four  in  the  after- 
noon, the  warmest  and  most  disagreeable  part  of  the  day.  It  was 
expected  that  Congress  would  adjourn  during  the  dog-days,  at 
least,  but  they  have  so  much  business  that  a recess,  however  short, 
would  leave  them  behindhand.”  A portion  of  the  young  states- 
man’s gossip  about  men  and  women  then  most  conspicuous  in  the 
metropolis,  we  transcribe  from  his  letters,  which  are  more  parti- 
cular and  more  entertaining  than  any  other  notices  of  life  in  New 
York  during  that  summer. 

“At  tea,  this  afternoon,  at  Mr.  Kamsay’s,”  he  writes  on  the 
twentieth  of  July,  “ I met  Mr.  Gardoqui,  and  his  secretary,  Mr. 
Kawdon,  who  is  soon,  if  common  report  says  truly,  to  marry  Miss 
M.  His  complexion  and  his  looks  show  sufficiently  from  what 
country  he  is.  How  happens  it  that  revenge  stares  through  the 
eyes  of  every  Spaniard  ? Mr.  Gardoqui  was  very  polite,  and  en 
quired  much  after  my  father,  as  did  also  Mr.  Van  Berckel,  the  Dutch 
minister.”  Mr.  Kamsay  was  the  amiable  and  accomplished  histo- 
rian, and  a representative  from  South  Carolina. 

On  the  twenty-third  he  dined  with  General  Knox,  the  secretary 
of  war,  who  lived  about  four  miles  out  of  the  city.  The  Virginia 
and  Massachusetts  delegations,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith,  Lady  Duer, 
daughter  of  Lord  Stirling,  Miss  Sears,  Mr.  Church,  Colonel  Wads- 
worth, and  Mr.  Osgood,  formed  the  company.  “ Lady  Duer  is  not 
young,  or  handsome,”  he  says ; but  she  would  not  have  been  thought 
old,  by  a man  over  eighteen,  and  she  had  been,  if  she  was  not  then, 
one  of  the  sweetest  looking  women  in  the  city.  “ Miss  Sears,”  he 
continues,  “ has  been  ill,  and  looks  pale ; but  she  is  very  pretty, 


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and  has  the  reputation  of  being  witty  and  sharp : I am  sure  she 
does  not  look  mechante .”  After  a passage  of  more  than  twelve 
weeks,  from  Amsterdam,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Van  Berckel  arrived 
in  Philadelphia,  and  the  minister  set  out  to  meet  her.  Young 
Adams  had  seen  her  in  Holland,  and  does  not  appear  to  have 
formed  a very  high  estimate  of  her  beauty.  “ The  young  ladies 
here,”  he  remarks,  “ are  very  impatient  to  see  her,  and  I dare  say 
that  when  she  comes  reflections  will  not  be  spared  on  either  side 
The  beauties  of  New  York  will  triumph,  but,  I hope,  with  mode 
ration.” 

Colonel  William  S.  Smith,  a native  of  New  York,  who  had 
served  with  considerable  credit  during  the  war,  and  was  afterward 
appointed  Secretary  of  Legation  at  the  Court  of  London,  was  at 
this  time  engaged  to  Miss  Adams.  On  the  last  day  of  July  her 
brother  went  with  a Mr.  Jarvis  to  visit  the  family,  at  Jamaica,  Long 
Island. 

“ The  colonel’s  mother,”  he  writes,  “ appeared  to  miss  him  very 
much.  All  the  family  are  in  mourning  for  the  old  gentleman,  who 
died  about  nine  months  ago.  There  is  one  son  here  now.  and,  if  I 
mistake  not,  six  daughters.  Sally  strikes  most  at  first  sight : she 
is  tall,  has  a very  fine  shape,  and  a vast  deal  of  vivacity  in  her 
eyes,  which  are  a light  blue.  She  has  the  ease  and  elegance  of  the 
French  ladies,  without  then*  loquacity.  Her  conversation,  I am  told, 
is  as  pleasing  as  her  figure.”  This  young  lady  was  married  in  a few 
years  to  Charles  Adams,  the  writer’s  brother.  He  also  mentions  a 
“ celebrated  beauty  by  the  name  of  Miss  Ogden,”  who  then  lived 
on  the  Island.  He  thought  she  resembled  the  handsome  Mrs. 
Bingham,  of  Philadelphia,  whom  he  had  encountered  abroad. 

On  Sunday,  the  seventh  of  August,  he  writes,  “I  attended 
church  this  morning  at  St.  Paul’s : for  we  have  a St.  Paul’s  here  as 
well  as  you  in  London,  though  it  is  something  like  Alexander  the 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


81 


Great  and  Alexander  the  coppersmith.  It  is,  however,  the  largest 
and  most  frequented  church  in  New  York.  After  church  I left  a 
card  with  Miss  Yan  Berckel;she  arrived  here  from  Philadelphia 
two  days  ago ; she  complains  of  not  understanding  the  language,  as 
bitterly  as  you  did  when  you  first  arrived  in  France.” 

The  next  morning  he  went  out  with  some  company  to  a seat 
called  Content,  two  or  three  miles  from  town,  to  call  on  Lady 
Wheate.  “ She  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  belles  of  the  city. 
About  two  years  ago  she  married  Sir  Jacob  Wheate,  a British  officer, 
between  sixty  and  seventy  years  old ; she  was  not  sixteen ; Sir 
Jacob,  before  he  had  been  married  a week,  went  to  the  West  Indies, 
and  there  died.  He  left  her  a handsome  fortune,  and  it  is  said  she 
is  soon  to  wed  Sir  Francis  Cochrane,  son  of  Lord  Dundonald,  a 
Scotch  nobleman.  Miss  Sally  Smith  was  with  Lady  Wheate,  and 
has  spent  nearly  a week  with  her.  I am  vastly  pleased  with  this 
lady ; the  contrast  between  her  manners  and  those  of  Lady  Wheate 
is  greatly  in  her  favor,  and  very  striking.” 

He  made  several  excursions  to  places  in  the  vicinity.  One  was 
with  Mr.  Soderstrom,  the  Swedish  consul,  to  Mr.  Bayard,  whose 
seat  was  nearly  a mile  from  the  city.  He  had  two  daughters,  who 
ranked  among  the  toasts,  and  one  of  them  he  thought  very  pretty. 
Mr.  Bayard  had  been  a Tory,  but  the  fact  was  now  forgotten,  or  at 
least  not  remembered  against  his  charming  family.  On  another 
occasion  he  visited  Monsieur  de  Marbois,*  the  French  charge  d'af- 

* Barbe  Marbois,  afterward  the  Marquis  de  Marbois,  was  born  at  Metz,  in  1745.  He  catno 
to  America  in  1779,  as  secretary  of  legation  under  tbe  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  and  when  that 
minister  returned  to  France,  in  the  spring  of  1784,  he  became  charge  d’affaires,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  continued  in  this  country  until  promoted  to  the  place  of  Intendent  of  Hispaniola,  in 
1785  — a period  of  six  years.  He  was  a great  favorite  in  society  while  he  resided  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick’s  family  I find  some  gossip  respecting 
his  marriage  with  Miss  Moore,  of  that  city,  in  June,  1784.  “The  nuptials  of  M.  de  Marbois  and 
Miss  Moore,”  says  the  writer,  “ were  celebrated  not  long  since ; the  cerefnony  was  performed  in 
the  morning  in  the  minister’s  chapel,  by  his  abb<5,  and  in  the  evening  at  Mr.  Moore’s,  by  Parson 
White.  It  gave  occasion  for  the  circulation  of  a variety  of  reports,  such  as,  that  the  lady  had 
11 


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faires , who  had  a summer  house  on  Long  Island.  He  describes 
Madame  de  Marbois  as  a “ spruce,  pretty  little  woman,”  who  spoke 
French  very  well,  and  had  none  of  the  rigid  principles  of  the  Qua- 
kers, among  whom  she  was  born.  Among  the  eminent  persons  with 
whom  he  dined,  at  one  place  or  another,  were  Dr.  Witherspoon, 
Dr.  Johnson,  Baron  Steuben,  and  Thomas  Paine,  who  at  this  period 
was  sometimes  admitted  to  the  tables  of  respectable  men. 

III. 

The  winter  of  1787-88  is  represented  as  having  been  more  gay 
than  any  since  New  York  was  first  agitated  with  the  discontents 
leading  to  the  revolution.  The  last  session  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress was  organized,  on  the  second  day  of  January,  by  the  election  of 
Cyrus  Griffin,  of  Virginia,  as  President ; and  as  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  in  Philadelphia,  had  adjourned  in  the  previous  Septem- 
ber, the  wisdom  of  the  nation  was  largely  assembled  here,  either  in 
official  capacities,  or  to  operate  more  effectively  on  public  opinion 
while  the  fate  of  the  Constitution  was  still  doubtful,  or  on  account 
of  those  social  attractions  which  every  country  finds  in  its  capital. 

M.  de  Marbois  had  been  superseded  as  charge  d’affaires  by  M. 

renounced  lier  religion  and  embraced  the  Catholic  — being  baptized,  and  receiving  the  sacra- 
ment ; though,  in  fact,  I believe  nothing  was  required  of  either  party  but  toleration  of  each  other." 
Washington  wrote  to  him  on  this  occasion : “ It  was  with  very  great  pleasure  I received  from 
your  own  pen  an  account  of  the  agreeable  and  happy  connection  you  were  about  to  form  with 
Miss  Moore.  Though  you  have  given  many  proofs  of  your  predilection  and  attachment  to  this 
country,  yet  this  last  may  be  considered  not  only  as  a great  and  tender  one,  but  as  the  most 
pleasing  and  lasting  one.  The  accomplishments  of  the  lady,  and  her  connections,  cannot  fail  to 
make  it  so.  On  this  joyous  event,  accept,  I pray  you,  the  congratulations  of  Mrs.  Washington 
and  myself,  who  cannot  fail  to  participate  in  whatever  contributes  to  the  felicity  of  yourself  or 
your  amiable  consort,  with  whom  we  both  have  the  happiness  of  an  acquaintance,  and  to  whom 
and  the  family  we  beg  leave  to  present  our  compliments.  With  very  great  esteem  and  regard, 
and  an  earnest  desire  to  approve  myself  worthy  of  your  friendship,  I have  the  honor  to  be,”  Ac., 
Ac.  M.  de  Marbois  held  many  important  offices  under  Napoleon,  and  he  is  known  as  an  author, 
in  this  country,  by  his  History  of  Louisiana  and  a work  on  the  Treason  of  Benedict  Arnold.  His 
daughter,  who  was  born  in  New  York,  was  married  to  the  Duke  de  Plaisance,  son  of  Le  Brun,  one 
of  Napoleon’s  colleagues  in  the  consulate. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


S3 


Louis  William  Otto,  who  had  resided  here  several  years,  and  who 
continued  in  his  present  office  until  the  arrival  of  the  Marquis  de 
Moustier,*  at  the  end  of  the  year  1787,  when  he  became  secretary 
of  legation.  For  the  previous  ministers  from  France  the  American 
people  had  justly  entertained  a most  affectionate  respect.  When 
Gerard  was  about  to  leave  us  Washington  said  to  him,  “You  car- 
ry with  you  the  affections  of  a whole  people,  and  leave  behind  you 
a reputation  which  will  have  the  peculiar  fortune  to  be  every  where 
admired  by  good  men.”  When  Luzerne  retired,  he  wrote  to  him, 
“ When  I say  you  have  inspired  me  with  sentiments  of  sincere  re- 
spect and  attachment,  I do  not  speak  the  language  of  my  own  heart 
only : it  is  the  universal  voice.”  In  the  same  manner  he  expressed 
his  regard  for  Marbois.  And  all  these  Frenchmen  cherished  for 
Washington  a profound  admiration.  The  Count  de  Moustier  was 
less  fortunate,  in  temper  and  abilities,  and  seemed  more  anxious 
to  win  the  admiration  of  the  people  than  the  confidence  of  the 
government.  One  of  his  earliest  communications  to  Washington, 
was  a complaint  respecting  some  fancied  neglect,  in  certain  points 
of  etiquette.  After  making  a tour  through  the  country,  however, 
he  seemed  better  pleased,  and  during  his  residence  in  New  York 
he  contributed  much  to  the  gayety  and  happiness  of  its  society. 

Governor  William  Livingston,  of  New  Jersey,  in  a letter  of  the 
third  of  March,  1787,  alludes  to  the  fashionable  life  here,  and  in  a 
characteristic  sentence  reproves  its  extravagance  and  dissipation. 
“ My  principal  secretary  of  state,  who  is  one  of  my  daughters,”  he 
says,  “ is  gone  to  New  York  to  shake  her  heels  at  the  balls  and 

* Eleonor-Frangois  Elie,  Marquis  de  Moustier,  Lieutenant  General,  Ac.,  Ac.,  was  now  thirty- 
seven  years  of  age.  He  possessed  a liberal  fortune,  and,  though  penurious,  was  fond  of  display  : 
none  of  the  foreign  ministers  entertained  more  frequently  or  more  ostentatiously.  Brissot  de 
Warville  says  he  heard  him  boast  that  he  told  Griffin,  the  President  of  Congress,  in  his  own 
house,  that  he  was  but  a tavern-keeper  ; “ and  the  Americans  had  the  complaisance  not  to  demand 
his  recall  1 ” M.  de  Moustier  remained  faithful  to  the  Bourbons,  and,  during  the  ascendency  of 
Kapoleon,  found  refuge  in  England.  He  died  in  the  beginning  of  1817. 


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assemblies  of  a metropolis  which  might  as  well  be  — more  studious 
of  paying  its  taxes  than  of  instituting  expensive  diversions.” 

IY. 

The  country  which  watched  our  experience  with  the  profoundest 
interest  was  France.  She  was  already  heaving  with  passions  which 
derived  their  energy  from  our  example  ; and  for  many  years  the 
most  inquisitive  and  intelligent  speculators  on  our  resources,  gov- 
ernment, society  and  manners,  were  Frenchmen,  in  compulsory  or 
voluntary  exile,  or,  commissioned  for  observation,  applying  their 
best  faculties  to  the  solution  of  the  new  enigma  in  history.  Among 
the  rest  came  Brissot  de  Warville,  young,  handsome,  full  of  enthu- 
siasm, but,  said  Washington,  “intelligent,  discreet,  and  disposed  to 
receive  favorable  impressions  of  America.”  Sullivan  describes  him 
as  a “brisk  little  Frenchman,”  and  says  he  was  well  received  here. 
The  fate  of  poor  Brissot  is  well  known : he  reappeared  in  Paris 
with  the  simple  costume  of  a Quaker,  and  was  the  first  to  introduce 
in  his  own  country  the  fashion  of  wearing  the  ham  without  powder. 
These  things  should  have  been  sufficient  to  secure  for  him  applause 
as  a “ citizen,”  but  he  went  further,  and  published  his  JSfouveau 
Voyage  dans  les  Mats-  Unis  de  V Arnerique  Septentrionale * with  a 
motto  from  Tacitus,  to  the  effect  that  “ A people  without  morals 
may  acquire  liberty,  but  without  morals  cannot  preserve  it;” 
truths  which  were  presently  to  meet  with  fearfully  striking  illustra- 
tions on  a scale  so  extraordinary,  one  might  think,  as  to  make  the 
lesson  sufficiently  impressive  for  all  time.  He  became  a chief  of  the 
Girondins,  a party  which  would  have  governed  by  intelligence  and 

* His  other  works  on  America  are:  Examen  du  Voyage  du  Marquis  de  Chastellux  dans 
V Arnerique  Septentrionale;  Le  Philadelphien  it  Geneve ; Memoire  sur  les  Eoirs  de  V Arnerique 
Septentrionale,  lu  d I’Assemblee  de  la  Societe  des  Amis  des  Noirs ; and  Be  la  France  et  des 
Etats-Unis,  ou  de  V Importance  de  la  Revolution  de  V Arnerique  pour  le  Bonheur  de  la  France ; 
and  he  wrote  largely  on  American  affairs  in  his  journal,  Le  Patriot  Frangais. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


85 


respectability,  and  on  tlie  tliirty-first  of  October,  1798,  was  exe 
cuted  by  the  guillotine.* 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  Brissot  de  Warville  was  a more 
partial  observer  of  American  society  than  some  of  his  countrymen 
who  had  written  on  the  same  subject,  and  he  was  betrayed  into 
controversies  with  M.  de  Moustier,  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  and 
others,  who  objected  to  his  authority  on  the  ground  of  the  short- 
ness of  his  residence  among  us ; but  he  held  that  “ the  telescope  of 
reason  was  better  than  the  microscope  of  office ; ” and  appealed 
with  equal  tact  and  sagacity  to  the  new  instincts  of  the  Parisians 
for  a decision  against  his  adversaries.  “ The  greater  part  of  French- 
men who  travel  and  migrate,”  he  says,  “ have  little  information,  and 
are  not  prepared  for  the  art  of  observation ; presumptuous  to  ex- 
cess, and  admirers  of  their  own  customs  and  manners,  they  ridi- 
cule those  of  other  nations;  and  ridicule  gives  them  a double 
pleasure  : it  feeds  their  own  pride  and  humbles  that  of  others.  At 
Philadelphia,  for  instance,  the  men  are  grave,  the  women  serious : 
no  finical  airs,  no  libertine  wives,  no  coffee-houses,  no  agreeable 
walks.  My  Frenchman  finds  every  thing  detestable  at  Philadel- 
phia, because  he  could  not  strut  upon  a Boulevard,  babble  in  a 
coffee-house,  or  seduce  a pretty  woman  by  his  important  airs  and 
fine  curls.  He  was  almost  offended  that  the  women  did  not  ad- 
mire them,  and  that  they  did  not  speak  French  — he  lost  so  much 
in  not  being  able  to  show  his  wit ! If,  then,  a person  of  this  caste 
attempts  to  describe  the  Americans,  he  shows  his  own  character, 

* Lamartine,  by  whom  Brissot  de  Warville  has  been  treated  with  a severity  wnich  has 
been  denounced  as  entirely  unjust,  admits  that  he  “nurtured  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  these 
virtues : an  unshaken  love  for  a young  girl,  whom  he  married  in  spite  of  his  family ; a love  for 
occupation ; and  a courage  against  the  difficulties  of  life,  which  he  had  afterward  to  display  in 
the  face  of  death.”  Lafayette  introduced  him  to  Washington,  saying  in  his  letter:  “He  is  very 
clever,  and  wishes  much  to  be  presented  to  you;  he  intends  to  write  the  history  of  America, 
and  is,  of  course,  desirous  to  have  a peep  into  your  papers,  which  appears  to  me  a deserved  con- 
descension, as  he  is  fond  of  America,  writes  pretty  well,  and  will  set  matters  in  a proper  light.” 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


but  not  theirs.  A people  grave,  serious,  and  reflecting,  cannot 
be  judged  of  and  appreciated  but  by  a person  of  like  qualities.  ” 

With  his  friend,  Claviere,  M.  Brissot  landed  at  Boston,  near  the 
close  of  July,  1788,  and  a few  days  afterward  they  set  out  for  the 
South,  passed  leisurely  through  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and 
were  delighted  with  every  thing  they  saw,  until  their  arrival  in 
New  York.  The  city  was  still  confined  to  narrow  limits ; Broad- 
way extended  but  to  Anthony  street,  then  called  Catharine  street, 
beyond  which  were  hills,  sloping  on  the  east  side  to  the  Kolch, 
and  on  the  west  to  the  lowlands  of  Lispenard’s  meadows.  Beyond 
Rutgers  street,  the  bridge,  at  Canal  street,  and  Harrison  street, 
along  the  several  chief  avenues  from  the  Bowling  Green  were  a few 
country  houses ; but  the  town,  properly  speaking,  covered  only 
the  districts  since  devoted  exclusively  to  trade.  One  of  the  Lu- 
theran churches  was  offered  a plot  of  ground,  containing  six  acres, 
where  Canal  street  now  meets  Broadway ; but  the  trustees  of  the 
society  decided  that  it  was  “ inexpedient  to  accept  the  gift  as  the 
land  was  not  worth  fencing  in.”  That  the  city  must  soon  surpass 
all  others  on  the  continent,  however,  was  even  then  foreseen  and 
acknowledged,  as  a necessary  consequence  of  her  magnificent  situ- 
ation — upon  the  whole,  incomparably  the  finest  occupied  by  any 
great  town  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  and  autumn,  M.  Brissot  had  ample 
opportunities  for  observation  of  the  social  characteristics  of  the 
people,  and  he  describes  whatever  arrested  his  attention  in  a very 
graphic  and  spirited  manner.  “ The  presence  of  Congress,  with  the 
diplomatic  body,  and  the  concourse  of  strangers,”  he  says,  “ con- 
tributes much  to  extend  here  the  ravages  of  luxury.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  far  from  complaining  at  it ; they  prefer  the  splendor  of 
wealth,  and  the  show  of  enjoyment,  to  a simplicity  of  manners, 
and  the  pure  pleasures  resulting  from  it.  The  habit  of  smoking 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


37 


has  not  disappeared  in  this  town,  with  the  other  customs  of  their 
fathers,  the  Dutch.  They  use  cigars,  which  come  from  the  Span- 
ish islands.  These  are  leaves  of  tobacco,  rolled  in  the  form  of  a 
tube,  six  inches  long,  and  are  smoked  without  the  aid  of  any 
instrument.  This  usage  is  revolting  to  the  French.  It  must  be 
disagreeable  to  the  women,  by  destroying  the  purity  of  the  breath. 
The  philosopher  condemns  it,  as  it  is  a superfluous  want.  It  has, 
however,  one  advantage : it  accustoms  to  meditation,  and  prevents 
loquacity.  The  smoker  is  asked  a question : the  answer  comes  two 
minutes  after,  and  is  well  founded.  The  cigar  renders  to  a man 
the  service  that  the  philosopher  drew  from  a glass  of  water,  which 
he  drank  when  he  was  in  anger. 

“ If  there  is  a town  on  the  American  continent  where  English 
luxury  displays  its  follies,  it  is  New  York.  You  will  find  here  the 
English  fashions.  In  the  dress  of  the  women  you  will  see  the  most 
brilliant  silks,  gauzes,  hats,  and  borrowed  hair.  Equipages  are 
rare ; but  they  are  elegant.  The  men  have  more  simplicity  in 
their  dress ; they  disdain  gewgaws,  but  they  take  their  revenge  in 
the  delicacies  of  the  table.  Luxury  forms  already  in  this  town  a 
class  of  men  very  dangerous  in  society  — I mean  bachelors : the 
expense  of  women  causes  matrimony  to  be  dreaded  by  men.  Tea 
forms,  as  in  England,  the  basis  of  the  principal  entertainments. 
Fruits,  though  much  attended  to  in  this  state,  are  far  from  possess- 
ing the  beauty  and  excellence  of  those  of  Europe.  I have  seen  trees, 
in  September,  loaded  at  once  with  apples  and  with  flowers.  M.  de 
Crevecoeur*  is  right  in  his  description  of  the  abundance  and  good 

* The  Chevalier  Saint  John  de  Crevecoeur  was  at  this  time  Consul  of  France  for  Connecticut, 
New  Jersey  and  New  York,  residing  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  was  born  of  a noble  family 
in  Normandie,  in  1'731,  and  passed  the  larger  part  of  his  life  in  America,  where  he  was  very 
much  respected.  He  returned  to  France  in  the  early  part  of  this  century,  and  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Institute.  His  principal  writings  are  “Lettres  d’un  Cultivaleur  Americain" 
Paris,  second  edition,  1787,  three  volumes,  octavo;  and  “ Voyage  dans  la  Haute- Pennsylvanie, 
et  dans  Vetat  de  New  York,”  Paris,  1801,  three  volumes,  octavo.  He  died  at  Sarcelles,  in  1818. 


88 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


quality  of  provisions  at  New  York,  in  vegetables,  flesh,  and  espe- 
cially iu  fish.  It  is  difficult  to  unite  so  many  advantages  in  one 
place.  Provisions  are  dearer  at  New  York  than  in  any  other  of 
the  northern  or  middle  states.  Many  things,  especially  super- 
fluities, are  dearer  here  than  in  France.  A hair-dresser  asks 
twenty  shillings  per  month,  and  washing  costs  four  shillings  for 
a dozen  pieces. 

“ Strangers,  who,  having  lived  a long  time  in  America,  tax  the 
Americans  with  cheating,  have  declared  to  me  that  this  accusation 
must  be  confined  to  the  towns,  and  that  in  the  country  you  will 
find  them  honest.  The  French  are  the  most  forward  in  making 
these  complaints,  and  they  believe  that  the  Americans  are -more 
trickish  with  them  than  with  the  English.  If  this  were  a fact,  I 
should  not  be  astonished  at  it.  The  French  whom  I have  seen 
are  eternally  opposing  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Americans, 
decrying  their  institutions,  exalting  the  favors  rendered  by  the 
French  government  to  the  Americans,  and  diminishing  those  of 
Congress  to  the  French. 

“ One  of  the  greatest  errors  of  travellers  is  to  calculate  prices  of 
provisions  in  a country,  by  the  prices  in  taverns  and  boarding- 
houses. It  is  a false  basis : we  should  take,  for  the  town,  the  price 
at  the  market,  and  this  is  about  half  that  which  one  pays  at  the 
tavern.  And  this  would  be  still  false,  if  it  were  applied  to  the 
country.  There  are  many  articles  which  are  abundant  in  the 
country,  and  are  scarcely  worth  the  trouble  of  collecting  and 
bringing  to  market.  These  reflections  appear  to  me  necessary  to 
put  one  on  his  guard  against  believing  too  readily  in  the  prices 
reported  by  hasty  travellers.  Other  circumstances  likewise  influ- 
ence prices : such,  for  example,  as  war,  which  M.  Chastellux  takes 
no  notice  of  in  his  exaggerated  account  of  this  matter.  The 
rates  were  about  twice  as  high  in  New  York  during  the  war,  as 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


89 


they  are  now.  Boarding  and  lodging,  by  the  week,  is  from  four 
to  six  dollars.  The  fees  of  lawyers  are  out  of  all  proportion 
they  are,  as  in  England,  excessive.  Physicians  have  not  the  same 
advantage  in  this  respect  as  lawyers,  the  good  health  generally 
enjoyed  here  rendering  them  little  necessary ; yet  they  are  suffi- 
ciently numerous.” 

The  Frenchman  proceeds  with  descriptions  of  several  public 
institutions,  and  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  persons  with 
whom  he  became  acquainted  here.  He  introduces  Jay,  Madison, 
Hamilton,  Mifflin,  Duer,  and  Rufus  King,  with  expressions  of 
admiration.  John  Jay,  the  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was 
forty-three  years  of  age,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  history 
a character  altogether  more  respectable.  Mr.  Madison  was  about 
thirty-seven,  though  Brissot  thought  him  but  thirty-three ; “ he 
had  an  air  of  fatigue,  perhaps  the  effect  of  his  immense  labors,  and 
his  looks  announced  a censor ; his  conversation  discovered  a man  of 
learning,  and  his  reserve  was  that  of  a man  conscious  of  his  talents 
and  his  duties.”  He  was  still  a bachelor,  but  he  invited  the  travel- 
ler to  dine  with  him  at  his  hotel.  Hamilton,  who  had  the  finest 
genius  and  one  of  the  bravest  tempers  ever  displayed  in  politics,  is 
praised,  but  not  with  such  earnestness  as  would  have  shown  a just 
estimate  of  his  extraordinary  merits ; he  was  six  years  younger 
than  Madison,  but  was  judged  to  be  five  years  older ; “ his  counte- 
nance was  decided,  his  air  open  and  martial,”  and  his  whole  appear- 
ance that  of  “ a determined  republican.”  Brissot  dined  at  Hamil- 
ton’s also,  and  describes  Mrs.  Hamilton  as  a “ charming  woman,  who 
joined  to  the  graces  all  the  candor  and  simplicity  of  the  American 
wife.”  Rufus  King,  whom  he  met  at  the  table  of  his  friend,  was 
nearly  thirty-three  years  old ; he  “ passed  for  the  most  eloquent 
man  in  the  United  States,”  and  what  most  struck  Brissot  in  him 

was  “his  modesty  — he  appeared  ignorant  of  his  own  worth.” 
12 


90 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


General  Mifflin,  who  was  there  also,  “ added  to  tire  vivacity  of  a 
Frenchman  every  obliging  characteristic ; ” and  Colonel  Duer, 
Secretary  to  the  Treasury  Board,  united  to  great  abilities  much 
goodness  of  heart.  Soon  after,  the  young  student  of  democracy 
was  invited  to  a dinner  party  at  the  house  of  Cyrus  Griffin,  the 
President  of  Congress,  and  he  gives  us  a glimpse  of  the  toilettes  of 
the  ladies,  whereof,  for  a Parisian,  he  seems  to  have  been  some- 
what fastidiously  critical : 

“ Mr.  Griffin  is  a Virginian,*  of  very  good  abilities,  of  an  agree- 
able figure,  affable  and  polite.  I saw  at  his  house,  at  dinner,  seven 
or  eight  women,  all  dressed  in  great  hats,  plumes,  &c.  It  was  with 
pain  that  I remarked  much  of  pretension  in  some  of  these  women ; 
one  acted  the  giddy,  vivacious ; another,  the  woman  of  sentiment. 
This  last  had  many  pruderies  and  grimaces.  Two  among  them 
had  their  bosoms  very  naked.  I was  scandalized  at  this  indecency 
among  republicans.  A President  of  Congress  is  far  from  being 
surrounded  with  the  splendor  of  European  monarchs ; and  so  much 
the  better.  He  is  not  durable  in  his  station;  and  so  much  the 
better.  He  does  not  give  pompous  dinners ; he  never  forgets  that 
he  is  a simple  citizen,  and  will  soon  return  to  the  station  of  one ; 
and  so  much  the  better.  He  has  fewer  parasites,  and  less  means 
of  corruption.  I remarked,  that  his  table  was  freed  from  many 
usages  observed  elsewhere : no  fatiguing  presentations,  no  toasts, 
so  annoying  in  a numerous  society.  Little  wine  was  drank  after 
the  women  had  retired.  These  traits  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the 
temperance  of  this  country  — temperance,  the  leading  virtue  of 
republicans.” 

Among  the  houses  at  which  M.  Brissot  dined,  was  Mr.  Jay?s. 

* M.  de  Warville  was  slightly  mistaken  ; Mr.  Griffin  was  a native  of  England,  and  connected 
by  marriage  with  an  ancient  and  noble  family  of  Scotland ; but  he  had  been  conspicuous  for 
his  devotion  to  American  liberty,  and  few  men  from  Virginia  shared  more  largely  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  Washington. 


i&hm 
Of  ( nj- 

unwersid  m iluwis 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


91 


We  have  before  us  the  “dinner  and  supper  list  ” kept  by  Mrs. 
Jay  during  the  years  1787  and  1788,  from  which  we  learn  that  the 
guests  for  the  second  day  of  September,  in  the  latter  year,  were  Mr 
and  Mrs.  Pintard,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rufus  King,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Montgom- 
ery, Mr.  and  Miss  Van  Berekel,  Mr.  Otis,  Mr.  Dane,  Mr.  Gerry,  Mr. 
Sedgwick,  Mr.  Gilman,  Mr.  Wingate,  Mr.  Wadsworth,  Mr.  Hunt- 
ington, M.  Brissot  de  Warville,  M.  de  la  Valle,  M.  de  Saussure. 

V. 

We  shall  dismiss  M.  de  Warville  a while,  for  other  contempo- 
rary writers  on  society  and  manners  in  the  metropolis.  The  only 
daughter  of  John  Adams  had  been  married  in  London,  on  the 
12th  of  June,  1786,  to  Colonel  William  S.  Smith,  at  that  time  our 
Secretary  of  Legation  ; and  they  returned  to  the  United  States  in 
the  summer  of  1788,  arriving  in  New  York  on  the  thirteenth  of 
May.  Mrs.  Smith’s  letters  are  very  much  like  those  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  which  we  have  already  quoted.  On  the  twentieth 
of  May  she  wrote  to  her  mother : 

“ Colonel  Smith’s  friend,  Mi*.  McCormick,  came  on  board  and 
conducted  us  to  his  house,  where  I have  been  treated  with  great 
kindness  and  attention.  My  mamma  and  Miss  M.  Smith  came  to 
town  on  Friday,  and  on  Sunday  I went  over  to  Long  Island,  to 
visit  the  other  part  of  the  family ; it  is  a family  where  affection 
and  harmony  prevail ; you  would  be  charmed  to  see  us  altogether ; 
our  meeting  was  joyful  and  happy. 

“ My  time,  since  my  arrival,  has  been  wholly  occupied  in  re- 
ceiving visits  and  accepting  invitations.  I have  dined  at  General 
Knox’s.  Mi*s.  Knox  has  improved  much  in  her  appearance.  The 
General  is  not  half  so  fat  as  he  was.  Yesterday  we  dined  at  Mr. 
Jay’s,  in  company  with  the  whole  corps  diplomatique  ’ Mr.  Jay  is 
a most  pleasing  man,  plain  in  his  dress  and  manners,  but  kind,  af- 


92 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


fectionate,  and  attentive ; benevolence  is  portrayed  in  every  fea 
ture.  Mrs.  Jay  dresses  gaily  and  showily,  but  is  very  pleasing 
upon  a slight  acquaintance.  The  dinner  was  a la  mode  Frangaise , 
and  exhibited  more  of  European  taste  than  I expected  to  find 
Mr.  Gardoqui  was  as  chatty  and  sociable  as  his  countryman  Del 
Campo,  Lady  Temple  civil,  and  Sir  John  more  of  the  gentleman 
than  I ever  saw  him.  The  French  minister  is  a handsome  and 
apparently  polite  man  ; the  marchioness,  his  sister,  the  oddest  figure 
eyes  ever  beheld : in  short,  there  is  so  much  said  of  and  about  her, 
and  so  little  of  truth  can  be  known,  that  I cannot  pretend  to  form 
any  kind  of  judgment  in  what  manner  or  form  my  attention  would 
be  properly  directed  to  her ; she  speaks  English  a little,  is  very 
much  out  of  health,  and  was  taken  ill  at  Mr.  Jay’s,  before  we  went 
to  dinner,  and  obliged  to  go  home. 

“ Congress  are  sitting ; but  one  hears  little  more  of  them  than 
if  they  were  inhabitants  of  the  new-discovered  planet.  The  Pre- 
sident is  said  to  be  a worthy  man ; his  wife  is  a Scotch  woman, 
with  the  title  of  Lady  Christiana  Griffin ; she  is  out  of  health,  but 
appears  to  be  a friendly-disposed  woman  ; we  are  engaged  to  dine 
there  next  Tuesday.  Every  one  is  kind  and  civil  in  his  inquiries 
respecting  my  father.  Some  persons  expected  he  would  have 
taken  New  York  in  his  way  home ; others  expect  he  will  make 
them  a visit  in  the  course  of  the  summer  ; every  body  inquires  if 
he  is  not  coming ; and  it  seems  to  be  a very  general  idea  that  he 
will  come.  He  will  judge  for  himself  of  the  propriety  of  a visit  to 
this  place.  I need  not  say,  that  to  see  both  my  parents  here, 
would  contribute  greatly  to  my  happiness.  . ..  . 

“ I thought  I had  no  local  attachments,  but  I find  I have  a 
strong  penchant  towards  your  city;  yet  I do  not  give  a preference, 
lest  I might  be  disappointed  were  I to  visit  Boston  at  this  time 
Our  minds  are  strangely  but  happily  flexible,  and  very  soon  we  are 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


93 


assimilated  to  tlie  situation  in  wliicli  we  are  placed,  either  by  de- 
sign or  accident” 

The  marchioness  referred  to  by  Mrs.  Smith  was  Madame  de 
Brehan,  sister  of  the  Count  de  Moustier,  who,  with  her  son,  accom- 
panied him  on  his  mission  to  this  country.  She  was  a very  clever 
woman,  wrote  with  spirit,  and  had  some  skill  as  an  artist.  She 
made  several  portraits  of  Washington,  one  of  which  was  presented 
by  him  to  Mrs.  Bingham,  and  of  another,  which  was  engraved  in 
Paris,  many  copies  were  sent  to  Washington,  and  to  her  friends 
here,  after  her  return  to  France.  She  appears  to  have  made  her- 
self more  agreeable  to  Mr.  Jelferson  than  to  Mrs.  Smith.  In  a let- 
ter to  her  on  her  quitting  Paris  for  the  United  States,  he  says, 
“ The  imitations  of  European  manners,  which  you  will  find  in  our 
towns,  will,  I fear,  be  little  pleasing ; I beseech  you  to  practise  still 
your  own,  which  will  furnish  them  a model  of  what  is  perfect. 
Should  you  be  singular , it  will  be  by  excellence,  and  after  a while 
you  will  see  the  effect  of  your  example.”  Very  few  of  his  contem- 
poraries could  approach  women  with  more  happy  compliments 
than  Mr.  Jefferson ; but  it  is  proper  to  state  that  the  language  of 
Mrs.  Smith  in  regard  to  Madame  de  Brehan  is  justified  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  her  which  we  have  from  other  hands.  Among  the 
young  men  then  in  New  York  was  John  Armstrong,  who  says  in 
a letter  to  his  friend  General  Gates : “We  have  a French  minister 
now  with  us,  and  if  France  had  wished  to  destroy  the  little  remem- 
brance that  is  left  of  her  and  her  exertions  in  our  behalf,  she  would 
have  sent  just  such  a minister : distant,  haughty,  penurious,  and 
entirely  governed  by  the  caprices  of  a little  singular,  whimsical, 
hysterical  old  woman,  whose  delight  is  in  playing  with  a negro 
child,  and  caressing  a monkey.” 

The  business  of  the  French  legation  was  probably  transacted 
for  the  most  part  by  M.  Otto,  who  possessed  the  most  agreeable 


94 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


social  qualities,  and  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the  families  of 
Livingston  and  Crevecoeur  * 

Sir  John  Temple  was  the  British  Consul  General.  He  was  a 
native  of  Boston,  and  had  inherited  his  title  from  his  great  grand- 
father, who  lived  and  died  in  England.  His  character  has  been 
much  discussed ; the  translator  of  the  Travels  of  the  Marquis  de 
Chastellux,  in  several  notes,  refers  to  him  as  a person  utterly  des- 
titute of  honor,  and  charges  him  with  such  political  duplicity  during 
his  residence  in  Boston,  as  should  have  prevented  his  ever  revisit- 
ing this  country.  Mr.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,f  on  the  other  hand, 
gives  a very  favorable  view  of  his  conduct,  which  he  declares 
evinced  a steady  and  consistent  attachment  to  America.  Lady 
Temple  was  a daughter  of  Governor  Bowdoin,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  had  probably  been  previously  acquainted  with  the  Adams 
family.  The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  said  of  her  in  1782,  “If  I do 
not  place  Mrs.  Temple  in  the  list  of  handsome  women  it  is  not  from 
want  of  respect,  but  because  her  figure  is  so  distinguished  as  to 
make  it  unnecessary  to  pronounce  her  truly  beautiful.” 

On  the  fifteenth  of  June  Mrs.  Smith  wrote  again  to  her  mother, 
giving  some  further  notices  of  the  people  she  had  met : “We  are 
treated  here,”  she  says,  “ with  great  civility  and  friendship.  We 
were  invited  to  dine  with  the  Governor,  which  was  a very  particu- 
lar favor.  He  and  his  family  neither  visit  nor  are  visited  by  any 
families,  either  in  public  or  private  life.  He  sees  no  company,  and 
is  not  much  beloved  or  respected.  His  conduct  in  many  points 

* Louis  Guillaume  Otto,  afterward  Comte  de  Mosloy,  was  born  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden, 
in  1754.  He  accompanied  M.  de  la  Luzerne  to  this  country  in  1779,  and  remained  here  till  1792. 
In  1805  he  was  offered  the  post  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States,  but  declined 
it.  His  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1782,  was  a Miss  Livingston,  “of  one  of  the  most 
considerable  families  of  the  United  States and  in  April,  1790,  he  was  married  again,  in  New 
York,  to  Mile.  Fanny  de  Crevecceur,  daughter  of  the  French  Consul.  He  died  in  Paris  on  the 
ninth  of  November,  1817. 

I In  his  Address  before  the  Maine  Historical  Society,  in  1849. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


95 


is  censured,  perhaps  unjustly ; lie  is  particular,  perhaps,  with 
others.  That  he  is  a man  of  undecided  character,  no  one  who 
sees  him  will  say.  To  me  he  appears  one  whose  conduct  and  mo- 
tives of  action  are  not  to  be  seen  through  upon  a slight  examina- 
tion. The  part  he  has  taken  on  the  subject  of  the  new  Constitu- 
tion is  much  condemned.  What  are  his  motives  I do  not  pretend 
to  judge ; but  I do  not  believe  that  he  acts  or  thinks  without  some 
important  reasons.  Mrs.  Clinton  is  not  a showy  but  is  a kind, 
friendly  woman.  She  has  five  daughters,  and  one  son  ; the  second 
daughter  is  about  fourteen  years  old,  and  as  smart  and  sensible  a 
girl  as  I ever  knew : a zealous  politician,  and  a high  anti-Federalist. 
The  Governor  does  not  conceal  his  sentiments,  but  I have  not  heard 
that  he  has  given  any  reasons  for  them.  His  family  are  all  poli- 
ticians. He  set  off,  yesterday,  for  the  Convention. 

“ General  and  Mrs.  Knox  have  been  very  polite  and  attentive 
to  us.  Mrs.  Knox  is  much  altered  from  the  character  she  used  to 
have.  She  is  neat  in  her  dress,  attentive  to  her  family,  and  very 
fond  of  her  children.  But  her  size  is  enormous ; I am  frightened 
when  I look  at  her ; I verily  believe  that  her  waist  is  as  large  as 
three  of  yours,  at  least. 

“ Sir  J ohn  Temple  has  taken  upon  himself  very  singular  airs  re- 
specting us.  It  has  been  his  constant  custom  to  visit  every  stran- 
ger who  came  to  town,  upon  his  arrival.  Lady  Temple  called 
upon  me,  at  a very  late  day  after  we  arrived,  but  Sir  John  has 
not  visited  Colonel  Smith,  and  says  to  others  that  he  does  not 
know  in  what  manner  to  behave  to  him,  because  he  does  not 
know  how  he  took  leave : whether  it  was  a gracious  audience  that 
he  met  with.  I returned  Lady  Temple’s  visit  by  a card,  without 
asking  for  her,  which  she  complains  of.  I respect  Lady  Temple, 
and  as  it  is  probable  we  shall  sometimes  meet  at  a third  place,  I 
wished  to  be  upon  civil  terms  with  her,  particularly  as  she  has 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


often  expressed  a regard  for  me  since  she  has  been  here Nor 

will  I exchange  visits  with  any  lady,  where  my  husband  is  not  re- 
ceived with  equal  attention. 

“ I hear  that  my  father  is  chosen  a delegate  to  Congress  for 
next  year.  I hope  he  will  accept,  for,  independent  of  my  wish  that 
he  should  not  retire  from  public  business,  I think  his  presence  in 
Congress  would  do  a great  deal  towards  reforming  the  wrong  sen- 
timents and  opinions  that  many  are  biased  by.  Both  precept  and 
example  are  wanting  here ; and  his  sentiments  in  politics  are  more 
respected  than  those  of  many  other  persons.  It  is  said  he  must  come 

and  be  President  next  year Every  body  is  looking  forward 

to  the  establishment  of  the  new  Constitution,  with  great  expecta- 
tions of  receiving  advantage  from  it.  To  me,  I confess,  the  conse- 
quences are  problematical;  and  should  any  one  or  more  states 
continue  to  oppose  it,  and  refuse  to  adopt  it,  melancholy  will  be 
the  scenes  which  ensue,  I fear.” 

On  another  occasion,  she  writes  to  Mrs.  Adams:  “We  have 
dined  to-day  at  President  Griffin’s,  with  a company  of  twenty-two 
persons,  including  many  members  of  Congress,  &c.  Had  you  been 
present  you  would  have  trembled  for  your  country,  to  have  seen, 
heard  and  observed  the  men  who  are  its  rulers.  Very  different 
they  were,  I believe,  in  times  past.  All  now  were  high  upon  the 
question  before  them ; some  were  for  it,  some  against  it ; and  there 
were  very  few  whose  behavior  bore  many  marks  of  wisdom.” 

“ You  would  not  be  much  pleased  with  society  here.  It  is 
quite  enough  dissipated.  Public  dinners,  public  days,  and  private 
parties,  may  take  up  a person’s  whole  attention,  if  they  attend  to 
them  all.  The  President  of  Congress  gives  a dinner  one  or  two  or 
more  days  every  week,  to  twenty  persons  — gentlemen  and  ladies. 
Mr.  Jay,  I believe,  gives  a dinner  almost  every  week,  besides,  one 
to  the  corps  diplomatique ; on  Tuesday  evenings  Miss  Van  Berckel 


1 SBRARY 

itt  mt 

UKIVERSIH  Of  ILLtWOiS 


N‘^wTork.1’  Appleton  * Co  346  A-  348  . Broadwjy. 


THE  YEAR  OP  SUSPENSE. 


97 


and  Lady  Temple  see  company ; on  Thursdays,  Mrs.  Jay,  and  Mrs. 
La  Forest,  the  wife  of  the  French  Consul ; on  Fridays,  Lady  Chris- 
tiana, the  Presidentess ; and  on  Saturdays,  Mrs.  Secretary . 

Papa  knows  her,  and,  to  he  sure,  she  is  a curiosity ! ” 

Mi’s.  Smith  was  decidedly  ill-pleased  with  life  in  New  York, 
and  was  gratified,  therefore,  when  Colonel  Smith  hired  a small  farm 
on  Long  Island,  where  she  could  live  quietly,  without  ever  think- 
ing of  slights  by  Sir  John  and  Lady  Temple,  the  odd  figure  of 
Madame  de  Brehan,  the  circumference  of  Mrs.  Knox’s  waist,  or  any 
of  the  thousand  grievances  which  claimed  her  unwilling  attention 
in  the  city. 

YI. 

Dueixg  the  last  sessions  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  all 
the  period  indeed  in  which  Mr.  Jay  was  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  the  first  place  in  New  York  society  was  occupied  by  the 
family  of  that  pure-minded  and  most  accomplished  statesman.  His 
wife  was  admirably  fitted  by  natural  graces  and  knowledge  of  the 
world  for  her  distinguished  position.  She  was  a daughter  of  Gov- 
ernor Livingston,  and  was  named  Sarah  Van  Brugh,  after  her 
father’s  grandmother,  who  had  been  the  guide  and  protectress  of 
his  boyhood.  Among  her  sisters  were  Susan,  who  married  John 
Cleve  Symmes,  Kitty,  who  married  Matthew  Ridley,  and  Judith, 
who  married  John  W.  Watkins.  She  was  very  carefully  educated, 
and  in  April,  IT T 4,  being  then  in  her  eighteenth  year,  was  mar- 
ried at  Elizabethtown  to  Mr.  Jay,  then  about  twenty-nine.  Until 
1779  she  passed  most  of  her  time  at  the  pleasant  house  of  her 
father,  where  she  was  visited  by  her  husband  as  often  as  his  vari- 
ous important  public  duties  would  permit,  and  in  that  year  she  ac- 
companied him  to  Spain,  where  he  was  the  first  American  minister. 

In  1782  they  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  Mr.  Jay  was  ordered  to 
18 


98 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


arrange  with  the  other  commissioners  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace 
with  England.  During  her  residence  in  Paris  she  was  a great  fa- 
vorite in  society.  Spain  had  been  less  agreeable  to  her ; but  when 
she  passed  the  frontier  into  France,  she  wrote  to  her  mother  that 
“ the  enchanting  prospects  and  fertile  fields  which  every  where  ar- 
rested and  engaged  attention,  the  gayety  and  industry  of  the  in- 
habitants,” and  every  thing  indeed  she  saw  or  heard,  reconciled 
her  to  the  lot  of  humanity,  with  which  some  scenes  in  the  pre- 
ceding part  of  the  journey  had  almost  disgusted  her.  In  1785, 
writing  from  Paris,  Miss  Adams  remarks,  “Every  person  who 
knew  her  when  here  bestows  many  encomiums  on  Mrs.  Jay:  Mad- 
ame de  Lafayette  said  she  was  well  acquainted  with  her,  and  very 
fond  of  her,  adding,  that  Mrs.  Jay  and  she  thought  alike,  that 
pleasure  might  be  found  abroad,  but  happiness  only  at  home,  in 
the  society  of  one’s  family  and  friends.”  We  have  before  us  let- 
ters from  Madame  de  Lafayette  to  Mrs.  Jay,  which  disclose  the 
very  warm  friendship  she  conceived  for  her.  Declining  the  ap- 
pointment of  commissioner  to  England,  Mr.  Jay  returned  with  his 
family  to  New  York,  where  he  was  welcomed  with  an  enthusiastic 
public  reception,  and  he  presently  accepted  the  office  of  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs.  This  prominent  position  of  her  husband  com- 

m 

pelled  Mrs.  Jay  to  intermit  her  domestic  duties,  and  her  “invitation 
list”  during  the  years  1787  and  1788,  seems  to  indicate  the  circle  of 
New  York  society  in  that  period,  as  well  as  the  American  states- 
men and  distinguished  foreigners  who  met  at  her  table.* 

* As  far  as  we  can  decipher  the  names,  this  list  embraced  Ur.  Alsop,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen, 
General  Armstrong,  Mr.  and  Miss  Van  Berckel,  Mrs.  Bruce,  Mr.  Barclay,  Miss  Browne,  Mr.  Ben. 
son,  Mr.  Bingham,  Major  Beckwith,  Mr.  Pierce  Butler,  Mrs.  and  the  Misses  Butler,  Major  Butler, 
Colonel  Burr,  Mr.  Bronson,  Mss  Bayard,  Mr.  Blount,  Mr.  Constable,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Charlton, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  Van  Cortlandt,  Miss  Van  Cortlandt,  Mr.  F.  Van  Cortlandt,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colden, 
Miss  Cuyler,  Governor  Clinton,  General  Clinton,  Mr.  Freeman  Clarkson,  Mr.  Stratfield  Clarkson, 
Mr.  Levinus  Clarkson,  Mr.  Henry  Cruger,  Mr.  Cadwallader,  General  Clarkson,  Mr.  Corbit,  Colonel 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


99 


Few  women  in  the  city  were  more  admired  than  Mrs.  Rufus 
King,  though  she  possessed  little  of  that  fondness  for  display  which 
made  others  far  more  conspicuous.  She  was  a daughter  of  John 
Alsop,  an  opulent  merchant,  whose  large  abilities,  patriotism,  and 
well-known  integrity  had  secured  his  election  to  the  Continental 
Congress  which  declared  the  colonies  independent.  He  had  been 
so  conspicuous  in  his  opposition  to  the  British  Government,  that 
when  its  troops  took  possession  of  New  York  in  1778,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  seek  another  home,  and  he  withdrew  to  Middle- 
town,  in  Connecticut,  where  the  girlhood  of  Mary  Alsop  was  passed. 
After  the  peace  Mr.  Alsop  returned  to  New  York,  and  there  re- 
mained until  his  death,  in  1795.  Mr.  King  was  elected  to  the  Con- 
gress in  1784,  and  was  annually  reelected  until  1789;  he  became 
acquainted  with  Miss  Alsop  soon  after  his  first  arrival  in  the  city, 


Carrington,  M.  Chaumont,  Mr.  Duer,  Lady  Kitty  Duer,  Mr.  Mrs.  and  Miss  Duane,  Mr.  Dowse, 
Mx-.  Dane,  Mr.  F.  De  Peyster,  Miss  De  Peyster,  Mr.  Duane,  Monsieur  de  la  Forest,  Colonel  Few, 
Mr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Gardoqui,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grayson,  Mr.  Gouverneur,  Mr.  and  Miss  Gorham,  Mr. 
Gerry,  Mr.  Gansevoort,  Mr.  Gilman,  Mrs  Richard  Harrison,  Mr.  Ilindmau,  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  Mr.  Haring,  Mr.  Huger,  Mr.  Hawkins,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houston,  Mr.  Hobart,  Mr.  Izard, 
General  Irwin,  Dr.  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Jay,  Mrs.  James,  Mr.  S. 
Jones,  Chevalier  Paul  Jones,  Mr.  Kemble,  General  and  Mrs.  Knox,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rufus  King,  Mr. 
Kean,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Kissam,  Mi-,  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Ludlow,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Judge  Living- 
ston, Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  Livingston,  Miss  S.  Livingston,  Miss  Maria  Livingston,  Miss  Eliza  Living- 
ston, Mr.  Philo  Livingston,  Chancellor  Livingston,  Mr.  John  Lawrence,  Mr.  Lee,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ladron,  Mr.  C.  Laidlaw,  Mrs.  Laidlaw,  Major  John  Rowland  Livingston,  M.  Lattiniere,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  R.  IL  Lee,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  Lee,  Miss  Marshall,  Mr.  Meredith,  Count  de  Moustier  and  Mad- 
ame de  Brehan,  Mrs.  Montgomery,  Mr.  Mitchell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason,  Mr.  Mason,  Jr.,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Moore,  Mr.  J.  Marston,  Mr.  Matthews,  General  Morris,  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris,  Mr.  Madison, 
Major  North,  Mr.  Osgood,  Monsieur  and  Madame  Otto,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pintard,  Miss  Pintard,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Pierce,  the  President  of  Congress,  Colonel  Parker,  Mr.  Parker,  Mr.  Pinckney,  Bishop 
and  Mrs.  Provost,  Mr.  and  Miss  Pratt,  Mr.  John  Rutherford,  Mrs.  Rutherford,  Mr.  Rondon,  Mr. 

• Read,  Miss  Van  Rensselaer,  Mr.  Rickets,  Colonel  Ross,  Governor  Rutledge,  Mr.  Remsen,  Mr.  Sears 
and  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Melancthon  Smith,  M.  de  Saint  Glain,  Mr.  Philip  Schuyler,  Baron  Steu- 
ben, Mrs.  Swan,  General  Schuyler,  Mrs.  Symmes,  Sir  John  and  Lady  Temple,  Mr.  Charles  Thomp- 
son, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turnbull,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Horne,  Mr.  C.  Van  Horne,  Miss  Betsey  A Van 
Horne,  Miss  Cornelia  Van  Horne,  Colonel  Varick  and  Mrs.  Varick,  Cornelius  Verplanck,  Mi-,  and 
Mrs.  Robert  Watts,  Mr.  John  Watts,  Mr.  and  Lady  Mary  Watts,  Mr.  and  Misses  "White,  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson, Dr.  Witherspoon,  Colonel  Wadsworth,  Mr.  Wingate,  Judge  Yates. 


100 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


and  was  married  to  lier  on  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1786,  when 
she  was  in  her  sixteenth  year. 

John  Adams  soon  after  wrote  to  him  a letter  of  congratula- 
tion. “ I heard  some  time  ago,”  he  says,  “ of  your  marriage  with 
the  daughter  of  my  old  friend  Mr.  Alsop,  as  well  as  of  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Gerry,*  and  of  both  with  the  more  pleasure,  probably, 
as  a good  work  of  the  same  kind,  for  connecting  Massachusetts  and 
New  York  in  the  bonds  of  love,  was  going  on  here.  Last  Sunday, 
under  the  right  reverend  sanction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury and  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  were  married  Mr.  Smith  and 
Miss  Adams.  It  will  be  unnatural  if  federal  purposes  are  not  an- 
swered by  these  intermarriages.” 

As  all  executive  and  legislative  functions  were-  at  this  time  dis- 
charged by  Congress,  its  sessions  were  in  some  sense  permanent, 
for  as  the  term  of  one  Congress  expired  that  of  the  next  would 
begin.  Mr.  King  therefore  rarely  found  time  to  visit  his  constitu- 
ents, but  resided  habitually  in  the  metropolis,  with  Mr.  Alsop,  who 
had  long  been  a widower,  with  no  other  child  than  his  daughter 
Mary.  His  house  was  number  thirty-eight  South  street,  as  that  part 
of  William  street  was  then  called  which  extended  from  Maiden  Lane 
to  Old  Slip.  It  was  near  the  corner  of  Maiden  Lane,  to  which  there 
was  an  opening  through  the  yard,  and  when  the  name  of  William 
was  given  to  the  whole  street  the  number  was  changed  to  sixty-two. 

Mrs.  King  was  remarkable  for  personal  beauty ; her  face  was 
oval,  with  finely  formed  nose,  mouth,  and  chin,  blue  eyes,  a clear 
brunette  complexion,  black  hah-,  and  fine  teeth.  Her  movements 
were  at  once  graceful  and  gracious,  and  her  voice  musical.  She 

* Mr.  Elbridge  Gerry  was  elected  to  the  Congress  in  1784,  and  though  then  but  forty  years 
of  age,  was  the  oldest  member  of  that  body.  lie  and  Mr.  King  were  married  about  the  same 
time.  Mr.  Gerry’s  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  James  Thompson,  and  was  a woman  as  distin- 
guished by  her  beauty  and  personal  worth  as  by  her  family  and  social  connections.  She  sun 
vived  her  husband  many  years,  and  died  at  a very  advanced  age,  in  Connecticut,  in  1849. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


101 


liad  been  carefully  educated,  and  her  quick  faculties  seized  advan- 
tage from  every  opportunity  of  cnltivation.  All  the  indulgence  of 
a parent  wholly  devoted  to  her  as  an  only  child  was  lavished  upon 
her  without  spoiliug  her  character. 

General  Armstrong  in  one  of  his  letters  refers  to  his  own  cir- 
cumstances at  this  time,  and  to  some  of  the  leading  characters  in 
society.  “ I am  not  yet  married,  nor  likely  to  be  so,”  he  says,  allu- 
ding to  a report  on  this  subject  which  had  reached  General  Gates ; 
“ the  truth  is,  that  I am  too  poor  to  marry  a woman  without  some 
fortune,  and  too  proud  to  marry  any  woman  I know  who  possesses 
one.  In  this  dilemma,  till  my  circumstances  change,  or  other  ob- 
jects present  themselves,  I must  even  keep  along  in  the  cheerless 
solitary  road  I am  in. 

“ Colonel  Smith  has  returned  from  St.  James’s.  He  brings  with 
him  a wife  and  child — the  whole  profit  of  his  legation.  He  has 
parted  with  some  of  his  characteristical  buckram,  that  is,  his  exter- 
nal manner  is  more  easy  than  it  was,  but  I fear  he  has  exchanged 
it  for  a coxcombry  of  a worse  sort — that  of  the  mind.  He  is  now 
a very  profound  politician,  and  indeed  so  much  so  that  he  is  often 
quite  unintelligible.  This  I regret,  for  I think  well  of  his  honor 
and  principles.  His  wife,  who  is  a daughter  of  Mr.  Adams,  is  the 
negative  being  described  in  Mrs.  Shandy. 

“ The  baron  passed  the  winter  at  the  same  lodging-house  with 
me.  To  this  he  has  come  at  last.  The  ‘ Louvre 7 is  dismantled  and 
deserted,  and  he  is  once  more  upon  the  justice  and  generosity 
of  the  public.  But  the  public  has  neither,  and  he  has  only  to 
choose  between  starving  here  and  begging  in  Europe.  This  is 
calamitous  to  him  and  disgraceful  to  us.  He  is  now  with  North, 
who,  by  the  way,  is  married  to  Duane’s  daughter,  and  exiled  to  the 
Mohawk.” 

The  baron  referred  to  by  Armstrong  was  Steuben,  who  had 


102 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


hired  a house  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  named  it  “The 
Louvre,”  and  filled  it  with  “ books  and  charts,  wines,  brandies,  and 
cigars,”  for  his  own  enjoyment  and  that  of  his  old  companions  in 
arms.  Poverty  had  compelled  the  veteran  to  surrender  it,  and  he 
would  not  have  felt  a deeper  mortification  in  yielding  to  an  enemy 
in  the  field* 

The  gayeties  of  New  York  society  in  1787  and  1788  were 
enhanced  by  a large  number  of  weddings  in  the  more  fashionable 
circles. f It  was  said  that  not  less  than  a dozen  of  members  of 
Congress  were  united  in  these  years  to  as  many  of  the  fascinating 
young  women  of  the  city.  Among  them  were  Mr.  John  Vining, 
of  Delaware,  who  married  Miss  Seton ; Mr.  John  Page,  of  Virginia, 
who  married  Miss  Lowther ; Dr.  Hugh  Williamson,  of  North  Caro- 


* President  Duer  relates  an  amusing  anecdote  of  the  baron,  connected  with  the  famous 
“ Doctors’  Mob,”  produced,  a year  or  two  before  this  tune,  by  the  careless  exposure  of  a “ subject,” 
from  the  dissecting-room  of  the  hospital.  It  became  necessary  to  call  out  the  militia  to  put  down 
the  rioters,  and  many  of  the  principal  citizens  repaired  to  the  assistance  of  the  civil  authority. 
Some  of  them  were  severely  wounded ; Mr.  Jay  received  a serious  wound  in  the  head,  and  the 
Baron  de  Steuben  was  struck  by  a stone,  which  knocked  him  down,  inflicted  a flesh  wound  upon 
his  forehead,  and  wrought  a sudden  change  in  the  compassionate  feelings  he  had  previously  en- 
tertained towards  the  rabble.  At  the  moment  of  receiving  it  he  was  earnestly  remonstrating 
with  Governor  Clinton  against  ordering  the  militia  to  fire  on  “the  people,”  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
hit  his  benevolence  deserted  him,  and  as  he  fell  he  lustily  cried  out,  “Fire,  Governor ! fire !”  He 
was  carried  into  Mr.  Duer’s  house,  and  there  being  no  surgeon  at  hand,  Lady  Kitty  stanched 
his  wound  and  bound  up  his  head.  After  his  departure  Governor  Clinton  provoked  the  laughter 
of  the  company  by  recalling  these  circumstances. 

f Miss  Montgomery,  in  her  “ Reminiscences  of  Wilmington,”  recites  an  anecdote  connected 
with  a wedding  at  the  Rutgers  mansion,  which  illustrates  the  topographical  condition  of  the  city 
at  this  time.  “ On  one  of  my  grandfather’s  visits  to  Colonel  Rutgers,  a wealthy  trader,  whose 
descendants  now  have  large  possessions  there,  he  was,  after  the  settlement  of  their  accounts,  in- 
vited to  dine,  and,  at  the  dinner,  requested  to  be  one  of  the  guests  at  a bridal  supper  to  be  given 
to  Colonel  Rutgers’  daughter,  on  her  return  from  a journey,  that  evening.  As  the  vessel  was  to 
sail  at  daylight  the  next  morning,  he  wished  to  be  excused.  However,  the  invitation  was  so  press- 
ing that  it  was  accepted,  and  he  did  not  leave  until  after  eleven  o’clock,  when  a servant  was  of- 
fered to  conduct  him  through  a huckleberry  swamp  on  the  way  to  his  lodgings.  As  it  was  bright 
moonlight,  and  he  was  familiar  with  the  path,  this  civility  was  declined ; but  when  about  half 
the  way  was  accomplished,  the  moon  disappeared,  and,  losing  his  path,  my  grandfather  wandered 
amidst  thorns  and  briers  till  day  dawned,  his  clothes  almost  torn  off.  This  swamp  was  long  age 
the  centre  of  New  York.” 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


103 


lina,  who  married  Miss  Apthorp,  and  Mr.  Joshua  Leney,  of  Maryland, 
who  married  Miss  Nicholson.  Another  of  these  gentlemen,  so  un 
faithful  to  their  pledges,  or  to  expectations  which  were  cherished 
among  them  fair  constituents,  was  Colonel  William  Few,  of  Georgia, 
who  in  the  answer  which  he  made  to  a letter  on  the  subject,  de- 
clared that  if  the  Georgians,  when  they  saw  how  very  fortunate  he 
had  been,  did  not  willingly  excuse  him,  and  admit  that  the  best  of 
them  would  have  yielded  to  the  same  temptation,  he  would  resign 
his  seat  in  the  Congress  and  retire  to  private  life.  Discussions 
meanwhile  were  going  on  as  to  what  place  should  become  the  seat 
of  government,  and  some  humorist  availed  himself  of  that  consider- 
ation in  drawing  up  the  following 

“ JetitM  0f  fjtnmg  faims. 

“ To  the  honorable  the  Delegates  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assem- 
bled : The  petition  of  the  Young  Ladies  of  Portsmouth,  Boston, 

Newport,  New  London,  Amboy,  Newcastle,  Williamsburgh,  Wilming- 
ton, Charleston  and  Savannah,  most  ardently  sheweth, 

“That  your  petitioners  possess  the  qualities  of  youth,  health, 
and  beauty,  in  an  eminent  degree;  that,  notwithstanding  these 
advantages,  they  see,  with  great  pain,  but  little  prospect  of  getting 
good  husbands,  owing  to  the  passion  the  beaus  have  of  going 
abroad  and  marrying  in  other  countries,  thereby  leaving  a great 
disproportion  between  the  sexes  at  home. 

“That  population  is  the  true  source  of  national  wealth  and 
power ; that  in  all  countries  population  increases  in  proportion 
as  marriages  are  frequent ; that  without  marriage  even  the  object 
of  the  Almighty  in  creating  man  must  be  defeated,  and  his  first 
and  great  command  disobeyed. 

“ That  your  petitioners  have  been  informed  of  the  many  mar- 
riages that  have  taken  place  in  New  York  since  your  residence  in 


104 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


that  city,  and  that  even  some  of  your  own  members  have,  to  their 
great  honor,  become  husbands ; that  delegates  in  Congress  ought 
to  be  all  bachelors,  and  a new  election  ordered  in  consequence  of 
marriage — domestic  duty  being  a good  excuse  from  public  service ; 
that,  with  due  deference  to  their  New  York  sisters,  they  cannot 
allow  them  any  just  preference  in  the  requisite  qualities  to  make 
the  married  state  happy ; that,  as  the  first  motive  for  appointing  a 
Congress  was  to  promote  the  welfare  of  humanity,  they  presume 
the  daughters  as  well  as  the  sons  of  America  have  an  equal  right 
to  a participation  of  the  blessings  arising  therefrom. 

“ That  for  these  reasons  your  petitioners  earnestly  request  you 
annually  to  remove  the  seat  of  federal  government  into  another 
state,  until,  in  due  rotation,  it  shall  have  been  in  all  the  states, 
leaving  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  New  York  the  three  last  upon 
the  list,  you  having  already  resided  in  each  of  then*  capitals. 

“ That  if  your  petitioners’  request  be  granted,  they  hope,  from  ' 
the  number  of  foreigners  and  other  fine  fellows  who  keep  them- 
selves in  the  sunshine  of  preferment,  as  well  as  from  your  own 
body,  to  have  at  least  a chance  of  bringing  their  accomplishments 
and  good  qualities  into  their  destined  use,  and  of  thereby  improv- 
ing as  well  as  augmenting  society. 

“ And  your  petitioners,  as  by  inclination  prompted,  will  ever 
wish,”  <fcc.,  Ac.,  &c. 

In  this  period  Edward  Livingston  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Mclvers,  Nicholas  Brevoort  to  Miss  Blair,  and  Mr.  Turnbull  to  Miss 
Susan  Van  Horne  (described  in  preceding  pages  by  Miss  Rebecca 
Franks) ; and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  Thomas  H.  Perkins 
to  Miss  Sally  Elliot,  Charles  Pinckney  to  Miss  Mary  Laurens,  Rich- 
ard Caton  to  Miss  Polly  Carroll,  Dr.  Casper  Wistar  to  Miss  Mar- 
shall, Noah  Webster  to  Miss  Greenleaf,  Sir  Peyton  Skip  with  to 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


105 


Miss  Millar,  Peter  S.  Du  Ponceau  to  Miss  Anne  Perry,  Thomas 
Lee,  son  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  to  Mildred,  daughter  of  Augustine 
Washington,  and  niece  of  George  Washington,  and  Richard  D. 
Spaight,  late  member  of  the  Federal  Convention,  from  North  Caro- 
lina, to  Miss  Mary  Leech,  “a  young  lady,”  says  the  Columbian 
Magazine  for  that  year,  “whose  amiable  character  and  beautiful 
person,  added  to  her  extensive  fortune,  promise  much  felicity  to 
this  truly  worthy  pair.” 

VII. 

The  Year  of  Suspense  drew  near  its  close.  Before  the  first  of 
July,  1788,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Con- 
necticut, Massachusetts,  Maryland,  South  Carolina,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Virginia,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  named, 
had  ratified  the  Constitution,  and  the  truly  respectable  portion  of 
the  people,  with  almost  entire  unanimity,  hailed  the  result  with  the 
sincerest  joy  and  the  most  sanguine  anticipations  as  to  its  ultimate 
influence.  All  the  larger  maritime  towns  saw  in  the  organization 
of  a vigorous  national  government,  with  ample  powers  for  the  reg- 
ulation of  commerce,  assurance  of  their  prosperity,  and  they  were 
the  first  to  celebrate  the  decision  of  the  people,  with  every  demon- 
stration suitable  to  so  grateful  an  occasion.  Boston,  Baltimore,* 
and  Charleston,  led  the  way,  and  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
other  cities,  followed  in  quick  succession. 

* In  the  procession  of  the  people  of  Baltimore  was  a ship  called The  Federalist,”  which  was, 
after  the  celebration,  presented  to  Washington,  who,  in  a letter  to  the  committee,  dated  at  Mount 
Vernon  on  the  eighth  of  June,  says : “ Captain  Barney  has  just  arrived  here  in  the  miniature  ship 
called  ‘The  Federalist,’  and  has  done  me  the  honor  to  offer  that  beautiful  work  to  me  as  a pres- 
ent from  you.  I pray  you,  gentlemen,  to  accept  the  warmest  expressions  of  my  sensibility  for 
this  specimen  of  American  ingenuity,  in  which  the  exactitude  of  the  proportions,  the  neatness  of 
the  workmanship,  and  the  elegance  of  the  decorations  (which  make  your  present  fit  to  he  pre- 
served in  a cabinet  of  curiosities),  while  they  exhibit  the  skill  and  taste  of  the  artist,  demonstrate 
that  the  Americans  are  not  inferior  to  any  people  whatever  in  the  use  of  mechanical  instruments 
and  the  art  of  ship-building.” 

14 


106 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


The  celebration  in  Philadelphia  was  planned  and  directed  in  a 
large  degree  by  the  celebrated  wit,  Francis  Hopkinson,  in  whose 
Works  nearly  a hundred  pages  are  occupied  with  its  description. 
The  day  selected  was  the  fourth  of  July.  The  rising  sun  was 
saluted  with  the  ringing  of  bells  and  the  discharge  of  cannon. 
Ten  ships  along  the  river  in  front  of  the  city  represented  the  ten 
ratifying  states,  each  gayly  dressed  in  flags  and  streamers,  with  ap- 
propriate inscriptions  emblazoned  in  gold.  At  half  after  nine  o’clock 
the  grand  procession  began  to  move.  The  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  French  Alliance,  the  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace,  the  Con- 
vention of  the  States,  the  Constitution,  the  New  Era,  were  repre 
sented  by  some  of  the  principal  citizens,  in  emblematical  costumes. 
The  Constitution  was  personified  by  a lofty  monumental  car,  in  the 
form  of  an  eagle,  drawn  by  six  horses.  Chief  Justice  McKean, 
with  Judges  Atlee  and  Rush,  in  their  official  robes,  were  seated  in 
this  car,  bearing  the  Constitution,  framed  and  fixed  upon  a staff, 
which  was  crowned  with  the  cap  of  liberty,  and  bore  as  a legend, 
“ The  People,”  in  golden  letters.  A carriage  drawn  by  ten  white 
horses,  supported  the  model  of  a Federal  Edifice,  the  “New  Roof” 
of  which  was  upheld  by  thirteen  columns,  three,  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  the  states  which  had  not  yet  ratified  the  Constitution, 
being  unfinished.  The  pilots,  ship  carpenters,  boat  builders,  and 
other  trades  connected  with  navigation,  surrounded  the'federal  ship 
Union,  mounting  twenty  guns,  and  with  a crew  of  twenty-five  men. 
A sheet  of  canvas,  tacked  along  the  water  line,  extended  over  a 
light  frame,  and  was  painted  to  represent  the  sea,  concealing  the 
carriage  on  which  the  vessel  was  drawn.  The  procession,  including 
all  the  trades,  many  of  which  were  occupied  with  their  appropriate 
duties,  the  military,  and  the  public  functionaries,  embraced  more 
than  five  thousand  persons,  and  having  traversed  the  city,  it  pro- 
ceeded to  Union  Green,  Bush  Hill,  where  a crowd  of  more  than 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


10? 


seventeen  tliousand  was  collected  to  observe  the  remaining  pro- 
ceedings. While  the  procession  was  moving,  the  printers  struck 
off  and  distributed  from  their  car  among  the  people  the  following 
ode,  which  was  written  by  Hopkinson : 


Oh,  for  a muse  of  fire  ! to  mount  the  skies, 

And  to  a listening  world  proclaim, 

Behold  ! behold  an  empire  rise  ! — 

An  era  new,  Time,  as  he  flies 
Hath  entered  in  the  book  of  Fame.” 

On  Alleghany’s  towering  head 
Echo  shall  stand,  the  tidings  spread, 

And  o’er  the  lakes  and  misty  floods  around 
“An  Era  New”  resound. 

See,  where  Columbia  sits  alone, 

And  from  her  star-bespangled  throne 
Beholds  the  gay  procession  pass  along, 

And  hears  the  trumpet  and  the  choral  song ! 

She  hears  her  sons  rejoice, 

Looks  into  future  time,  and  sees 

The  numerous  blessings  Heaven  decrees, 

And  with  her  plaudit  joins  the  general  voice. 

“ ’T  is  done ! ’t  is  done  ! my  sons,”  she  cries, 

“ In  war  are  valiant  and  in  council  wise ; 

Wisdom  and  valor  shall  my  rights  defend, 

And  o’er  my  vast  domain  these  rights  extend  ; 

Science  shall  flourish,  genius  stretch  her  wing, 

In  native  strains  Columbia’s  muses  sing, 

Wealth  crown  the  arts,  and  Justice  cleanse  her  scales. 
Commerce  her  ponderous  anchor  weigh — 

Wide  spread  her  sails — 

And  in  far  distant  seas  her  flag  display.”  . . . 

Hail  to  this  festival ! all  hail  the  day ! — 

Columbia’s  standard  on  her  roof  display 
And  let  the  people’s  motto  ever  be 
“ United  thus,  and  thus  united,  free  ! ” 


At  Union  Green  an  oration  was  delivered  from  the  Federal 


108 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


convention  for  forming  the  constitution  and  afterwards  in  defend- 
ing  it  before  the  convention  of  Pennsylvania.  The  entire  proceed- 
ings were  marked  by  the  utmost  decorum.  The  streets  and  the 
windows  and  roofs  of  houses  were  crowded  with  spectators,  but 
there  was  not  an  accident  or  the  slightest  disturbance  of  any  kind 
during  the  day.  “ It  was  remarkable,”  writes  a spectator  to  a friend, 
at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  “ that  every  countenance  wore  an 
air  of  dignity  as  well  as  of  pleasure.  Every  tradesman's  boy  in 
the  procession  seemed  to  consider  himself  as  a principal  in  the  busi- 
ness. Rank  for  a while  forgot  its  claims,  and  agriculture,  com- 
merce and  manufactures,  with  the  learned  and  mechanical  profes- 
sions, seemed  to  acknowledge,  by  united  harmony  and  respect,  that 
they  were  all  necessary  to  each  other,  and  all  useful  in  a cultivated 
society.  These  circumstances  distinguished  this  procession  from  the 
processions  in  Europe,  which  are  commonly  instituted  in  honor  of 
single  persons.  The  military  alone  partake  of  the  pleasure  of  those 
exhibitions.  Farmers  and  tradesmen  are  either  deemed  unworthy 
of  such  connections,  or  are  introduced  like  horses  or  buildings,  only 
to  add  to  the  strength  or  length  of  the  procession.  Such  is  the 
difference  between  the  effects  of  republican  and  monarchical  govern- 
ment upon  the  minds  of  men.” 

The  same  writer  mentions  particularly  that  the  clergy  formed 
a conspicuous  part  of  the  procession,  manifesting  by  their  attend- 
ance a sense  of  the  connection  between  good  government  and  reli- 
gion. There  were  seventeen,  and  they  marched  arm-in-arm  to  illus- 
trate the  general  union.  Care  was  taken  to  associate  ministers  of 
the  most  dissimilar  opinions  with  each  other,  to  display  the  promo- 
tion of  Christian  charity  by  free  institutions.  “ The  rabbi  of  the 
J ews,  with  a minister  of  the  gospel  on  each  side,  was  a most  delight- 
ful sight”  It  exhibited  the  political  equality,  not  only  of  Christian 
denominations,  but  of  worthy  men  of  every  belief. 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


109 


111  New  York  the  celebration  was  on  the  twenty-third  of  the 
same  month — three  weeks  after.  The  state  had  not  yet  accepted 
the  Constitution,  and  its  friends  probably  expected  that  this  impos- 
ing demonstration  would  have  some  effect  upon  the  convention 
which  was  debating  the  subject  at  Poughkeepsie.  The  proceedings 
were  arranged  by  Major  l’Enfant.*  The  morning  was  ushered  in  by 
a federal  salute  of  thirteen  guns,  from  a ship  moored  off  the  Bowl- 
ing Green.  The  procession  was  formed  soon  after  in  “ The  Fields,” 
where  stands  the  present  City  Hall,  and  marched  down  Whitehall 
street  to  Great  Dock  street,  thence  through  Hanover  square,  Queen 
and  Chatham  streets,  to  the  Bowery,  and  finally  to  a meadow  near 
the  country  residence  of  Nicholas  Bayard,  where  Broadway  now 
intersects  Grand  street.  Here  a splendid  pavilion,  eight  hundred 
feet  long  and  six  hundred  feet  wide,  had  been  erected,  with  a vast 
dome,  on  the  top  of  which  stood  Fame,  with  her  trumpet,  announ- 
cing a new  era,  and  displaying  the  standard  of  the  United  States, 
and  a roll  of  parchment  on  which  were  inscriptions  in  large  char- 
acters referring  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Alliance  with 
France,  and  the  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace.  By  the  side  of  Fame 
was  the  American  Eagle,  with  extended  wings,  and  over  six  of  the 
principal  pillars  of  the  colonnade  in  the  centre  of  the  pavilion  were 
the  arms  of  the  several  nations  which  had  recognized  our  independ- 
ence — France,  Spain,  Sweden,  Prussia,  Holland,  and  Mexico  — and 
above  these  their  respective  flags.  Within,  from  an  elevated  semi- 
circular table,  at  which  were  seated  the  President  and  members  of 
Congress,  the  heads  of  departments  in  the  federal  and  state  govern- 

* Major  l’Enfant  was  a native  of  France,  who  arrived  in  this  country  about  the  year  1780. 
His  first  public  employment  after  the  war  was  the  alteration  of  the  old  City  Hall,  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  Custom  House,  into  “Federal  Hall,”  for  the  new  government,  in  1789. 
He  afterwards  designed  a magnificent  residence  for  Robert  Morris,  in  Philadelphia,  in  which, 
before  it  was  half  finished,  the  great  financier  sunk  all  his  fortune.  He  is  best  known  now  as 
the  author  of  the  “Plan  of  the  City  of  Washington,”  and  the  architect  of  some  of  its  buildings. 
He  died  about  1817 


110 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ments,  foreign  ministers,  clergy,  and  other  guests,  radiated  a large 
number  of  tables,  with  plates  for  six  thousand  persons.  In  many 
respects  the  procession  resembled  that  in  Philadelphia.  Colonel 
Richard  Platt  was  chief  marshal,  and  was  assisted  by  Colonel  Mor- 
gan Lewis  and  Majors  Nicholas  Fish,  William  North  and  Aquila 
Giles.  The  various  trades  appeared  on  cars,  engaged  wTith  their 
several  occupations.  The  coopers  were  setting  up  and  hooping  a 
huge  cask,  emblematical  of  the  Constitution.  The  carpenters  were 
erecting  the  tenth  column,  inscribed  “New  York,”  of  the  federal 
temple,  and  two  prostrate  columns  represented  other  states  which 
had  not  yet  accepted  the  Constitution.  The  upholsterers  were  pre- 
paring a chair  of  state  for  the  first  President,  and  the  coach  mak- 
ers were  building  him  a superb  chariot.  The  printers,  preceded 
by  Hugh  Game,  immortalized  in  the  satirical  verses  of  Freneau, 
were  striking  off  and  distributing  patriotic  songs,  and  a pro- 
gramme of  the  day’s  proceedings.  On  the  car  of  the  brewers 
were  hogsheads  and  tuns,  decorated  with  festoons  of  hop-vines, 
and  on  the  top  of  one  of  them,  in  a closely-fitting  dress  of  flesh- 
colored  silk,  a handsome  boy,  representing  Bacchus,  his  head  gar- 
landed with  grapes,  hops,  and  barley.  At  the  head  of  the  law- 
yers were  John  Lawrence,  John  Cozine,  and  Robert  Troup.  In 
the  Philological  Society  appeared  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  its  Presi- 
dent, Noah  Webster,  its  Secretary,  and  William  Dunlap,  who  bore 
its  standard.  With  a large  number  of  farmers,  were  Nicholas 
Cruger,  driving  six  oxen,  John  Watts,  holding  a plough,  and  the 
Baron  Poelnitz,  attending  a threshing-machine.  The  most  inter- 
esting object  of  all  was  the  federal  ship  Hamilton  — a thirty-two 
gun  frigate,  thirty  feet  long  and  twelve  feet  -wide,  with  every  pro- 
portion and  appointment  complete.  She  was  manned  by  about 
forty  seamen  and  marines,  with  the  usual  complement  of  officers, 
and  commanded  by  the  veteran  Commodore  Nicholson,  who  dis- 


THE  YEAR  OF  SUSPENSE. 


Ill 


played  at  her  mast-head  the  same  broad  pennant  under  which  he 
had  fought  victoriously  upon  the  sea.  After  leaving  “ The  Fields,” 
in  passing  Liberty  street  she  made  a signal  for  a pilot,  and  re- 
ceived one,  and  on  arriving  before  Mr.  Constable’s  house,  at  the 
foot  of  Broadway,  Mrs.  Edgar  came  to  a window  and  presented  the 
commodore  a suit  of  rich  silk  colors,  in  acknowledgment  of  which 
the  yards  were  instantly  manned  and  the  crew  gave  three  cheers. 
When  passing  Old  Slip  a Spanish  government  ship  saluted  her  with 
thirteen  guns,  which  she  returned  with  as  much  promptness  as  if  she 
had  been  an  actual  man-of-war,  sailing  upon  her  proper  element. 
The  Hamilton  was  drawn  by  ten  white  horses,  and  during  the  ad- 
vance of  the  procession  went  through  every  nautical  preparation 
and  movement  for  storms,  calms,  squalls,  and  sudden  shiftings  of 
the  wind.  When  she  reached  “ Bayard’s  Farm  ” the  crew  took  in 
sail  and  anchored,  and  the  officers  “ went  on  shore  to  dine,”  while 
ample  messes  were  sent  on  board  for  the  seamen  and  marines.  At 
four  o’clock  signal  was  made  for  unmooring,  by  a second  salute  of 
thirteen  guns,  and  she  proceeded  to  the  place  whence  she  started, 
opposite  the  Bowling  Green,  where  she  arrived  at  half  past  five 
o’clock,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  thousands.  The  decorations  of 
the  societies,  professions  and  trades  in  this  immense  procession  were 
in  all  cases  rich,  tasteful,  and  appropriate,  and  the  general  effect 
probably  surpassed  that  of  any  similar  display  ever  made  in  New 
York  except  that  on  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  nearly  half 
a century  afterward.  In  the  evening  there  was  a display  of  fire- 
works, under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Bauman,  post-master  of  the 
city  and  commandant  of  the  artillery,  “ whose  constitutional  irasci- 
bility,” says  President  Duer,  “ was  exceedingly  provoked  by  the 
moon,  which  shone  with  pertinacious  brilliancy,  as  if  in  mockery 
of  his  feebler  lights.” 

These  proceedings  were  on  Monday,  and  on  the  following  Sat- 


112 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


urday,  about  nine  o’clock  in  the  evening,  news  arrived  in  the  city 
of  the  acceptance  of  the  new  Constitution  by  the  State  Convention 
at  Poughkeepsie.  “ The  bells,”  says  a contemporary  writer,  “ were 
immediately  set  a-ringing,  and  from  the  fort  and  the  federal  .ship 
Hamilton,  there  were  repeated  discharges  of  artillery.  The  mer- 
chants at  the  coffee-house  testified  their  joy  by  huzzas,  and  a large 
body  of  citizens,  headed  by  a number  of  the  first  characters,  went 
to  the  houses  of  the  city  members  of  the  Convention,  and  gave  three 
cheers,  as  a testimony  of  their  approbation  of  the  glorious  event 
brought  about  by  their  united,  unremitted,  and  toilsome  exertions. 
In  short,  a general  joy  ran  through  the  whole  town,  and  several  of 
those  who  were  of  different  sentiments  drank  freely  of  the  federal 
bowl,  and  declared  they  were  now  perfectly  reconciled  to  the  new 
Constitution.” 


LIBRARY 
of  m 

UNIVERSITY  OF  iLUNOiS 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


i. 

The  Congress  in  New  York  had  been  barely  kept  alive  during 
the  winter  of  1788-89.  Sometimes  not  half  a dozen  members 
remained  in  the  city,  and  a quorum  was  rarely  assembled.  All 
thoughts  and  all  hopes  were  centered  in  the  new  organization  of 
affairs,  wdiich  the  splendid  genius  of  Hamilton,  the  calm  and  judi- 
cial logic  of  Jay,  and  the  invincible  common  sense  of  Madison,  had 
at  length  made  triumphant.  For  with  whatever  power  and  ear- 
nestness the  claims  of  the  Constitution  had  been  asserted  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  it  was  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  the 
masterly  expositions  of  the  separate  and  common  interests,  in  “ The 
Federalist,”  reprinted  in  many  of  the  larger  towns,  and  entering 
into  nearly  all  the  spoken  or  written  arguments  for  the  Constitu- 
tion, in  every  state,  had  been  the  great  means  of  securing  to  the 
nation  what  the  abilities  and  patriotism  of  her  most  illustrious  citi- 
zens had  conceived  and  evolved — this  unapproachable  model  of  a 
free  and  stable  government. 

As  soon  as  the  necessary  majority  of  the  states  had  transmitted 
to  Congress  their  acceptance  of  the  Constitution,  an  act  was  passed 
for  the  choice  of  a President  and  Vice  President  of  the  Republic ; 
and  Washington,  who  had  commanded  the  army  and  presided  in 
15 


114 


THE  REPUBLIC  AN.  COURT. 


the  Convention,  as  if  by  the  all-disposing  election  of  the  Sovereign 
Ruler  of  the  world,  was  now,  by  the  common  sense,  affection,  and 
reverence,  made  vital  by  the  same  Divine  Influence,  called  to  the 
highest  place  in  the  completely  organized  nation.  The  sincerity 
of  his  nature  was  so  conspicuous  that  no  one  doubted  his  avowed 
reluctance  to  be  further  engaged  in  affairs,  though  in  the  most  hon- 
orable, dignified,  and  responsible  office  that  had  ever  been  created 
by  a free  people ; and  it  was  felt  that  no  addition  could  be  made 
to  his  glory,  so  that  his  acceptance  of  the  Presidency  must  be  a 
consequence  only  of  his  self-sacrificing  love  of  country ; but  to  this 
the  whole  people  appealed,  and  when  he  consented,  notwithstand- 
ing his  advanced  season  of  life,  his  increased  fondness  for  agricul- 
tural amusements,  his  growing  love  of  retirement,  and  decided  pre- 
dilection for  the  character  of  a private  citizen,  to  hazard  his  former 
reputation,  and  encounter  new  fatigues  and  troubles,  it  was  no 
longer  questioned  that  the  sublimest  revolution  in  human  history 
was  successful ; that  the  institutions  of  liberty  were  firmly  estab- 
lished ; that  a new  and  beneficent  power  was  inaugurated  which 
would  preserve  for  its  authors,  to  the  latest  ages,  such  grateful  re- 
spect as  is  due  to  the  benefactors  of  mankind. 

II. 

The  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution  came  together  very 
slowly.  The  day  appointed  for  its  meeting  was  the  fourth  of  March, 
1789,  and  at  morning,  noon  and  evening  on  that  day  there  was  fir- 
ing of  cannon  and  ringing  of  bells  in  the  city ; but  only  eight  sen- 
ators and  thirteen  representatives,  not  enough  for  a quorum  in  either 
house,  made  their  appearance ; and  though  circulars  were  repeat- 
edly sent  to  the  absent  members  it  was  near  the  end  of  the  month 
before  a sufficient  number  came  in  for  one  or  the  other  branch  to 
organize.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  desultory  habits  in  every- 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


115 


tiling  connected  with  federal  affairs  which  had  grown  up  under  the 
late  administration,  hut  more  largely  to  the  difficulties  and  uncer- 
tainties of  the  means  of  travelling,  not  only  in  the  more  inaccessible 
parts  of  the  country  but  even  in  the  most  populous  states  and  on 
the  chief  routes  connecting  the  larger  towns. 

The  Rev.  Jeremy  Belknap,  the  well  known  author  of  the  His- 
tory of  New  Hampshire,  and  several  other  works,  which  secured  to 
him  a high  reputation  among  literary  men  in  America  at  the  close 
of  the  last  century,  had  apprenticed  one  of  his  sons  to  Robert  Ait- 
kin, a printer  of  magazines  and  books,  in  Philadelphia.  He  sat 
out  from  his  home,  in  Dover,  to  visit  his  son,  and  see  the  world,  and 
the  adventures  he  encountered  illustrate  in  an  interesting  manner  the 
delays  and  vexations  of  travel  at  that  time.  From  Boston,  on  the 
twenty-seventh,  he  wrote  back  to  his  wife,  “ I am  disappointed  of 
my  intended  journey  to  Providence,  by  the  means  of  a set  of  Eng- 
lish factors,  or  something  else,  who,  after  I had  engaged  a passage 
for  myself  in  the  coach,  went  and  hired  the  whole  of  it  to  them- 
selves, and  the  base  fellow  of  a coachman  shut  me  out.  Your 
brother  is  vexed  on  the  occasion  as  much  as  myself.  Another 
coach  is  expected  in  this  evening,  and  I have  laid  in  for  a place  in 
it ; but  as  these  stages  do  not  go  on  any  fixed  day,  but  only  as  they 
find  company,  I may  be  detained  here  till  Thursday : however,  I 
have  time  enough  before  me  — the  whole  month  of  October  — at 
the  end  of  which  I hope  to  see  you  again.”  As  the  worthy  pastor 
anticipated,  or  hoped  rather,  the  stage-coach  was  again  ready  on 
Thursday  morning,  and  he  took  a place  in  it  for  Providence ; but 
the  illness  of  a “ lady  passenger  ” compelled  them  to  pass  the  night 
at  Hatch’s  Tavern,  in  Attleborough,  so  that  they  did  not  reach 
Providence  till  the  next  day.  On  the  following  Tuesday  he  sailed 
in  a packet  for  Newport,  having  been  detained  by  squally  weather, 
and  in  that  place  was  compelled  to  wait,  for  a favorable  wind 


116 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


and  a u freight  of  passengers,”  till  Friday.  “ But  before  we  left  the 
harbor,”  he  writes  to  Mrs.  Belknap,  “ the  wind  came  ahead,  and  we 
beat  to  windward  (a  species  of  sailing  I never  before  was  acquainted 
with,  and  never  wish  to  be  again*),  till  we  found  it  impossible  to 
weather  Point  Judith,  and  then  we  returned  to  port.  Saturday 
morning,  with  three  more  passengers,  seven  in  all,  we  sailed  once 
more,  with  a fan*  wind,  and  had  a very  pleasant  passage  up  the 
Sound,  in  a very  swift  sailing  sloop,  with  every  desirable  accommo- 
dation for  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping.”  Having  passed  four 
days  in  New  York,  where  he  enjoyed  himself  very  much,  on  the 
afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  thirteenth  of  October,  he  crossed  over 
to  Paulus  Hook,  about  sunset,  to  be  ready  to  start  for  Philadelphia 
in  the  “ New  Flying  Diligence  ” the  next  morning.  “ Between  three 
and  four  o’clock,”  he  writes,  “ we  set  off  in  the  stage,  rode  nine 
miles,  to  Bergen  Neck,  and  then  crossed  a ferry,  which  brought  us 
to  Woodbridge.  Just  before  we  reached  the  second  ferry,  we  per- 
ceived the  dawn  of  day,  and  when  we  had  ridden  two  miles  from 
it,  the  sun  rose,  so  that  we  had  ridden  sixteen  miles  and  crossed  two 
ferries  before  sunrise,  besides  shifting  horses  twice.  The  third  stage 
brought  us  to  Brunswick,  where  we  breakfasted.  We  here  crossed 
the  Raritan,  in  a scow,  open  at  both  ends,  to  receive  and  discharge 
the  carriage,  without  unharnessing  or  dismounting;  and  the  scow 
was  pulled  across  the  river  by  a rope.  We  passed  through  Prince- 
ton about  noon,  and  got  to  Trenton  to  dinner ; then  passed  the 
Delaware  in  another  scow,  which  was  navigated  only  by  setting 
poles  ; drove  thirty  miles  over  a plain,  level  country,  at  a great  rate, 
and  arrived  at  Philadelphia  just  at  sunset.”  He  adds,  “ I sent  for 
Josey  to  the  inn  where  the  stage  put  up,  and  the  dear  child  was 
overjoyed,  and  shed  tears  at  seeing  me ; they  had  heard  of  my  ar- 

* la  another  letter,  referring  to  this  “ beating  to  ■windward,”  he  says  “ it  made  me  downright 
seasick.” 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


117 


rival  in  New  York,  and  the  family  talk  had  ever  since  been  about 
me ; a lodging  was  prepared  for  me  at  Mr.  Aitken’s,  and  I was  re- 
ceived with  all  the  cordiality  of  an  intimate  friend.”  This  was 
three  and  a half  years  before  the  meeting  of  the  first  Congress, 
but  facilities  for  travelling  had  not  increased  much  in  that  period.* 
Philip  Freneau  describes  in  a satire  of  three  cantos  the  “ Jour- 
ney from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  by  way  of  Burlington  and 
South  Amboy;”  and  M.  Brissot  de  Warville  presents  a particular 
account  of  his  passage  between  the  same  cities,  in  “ a kind  of  open 
wagon,  hung  with  double  curtains,  of  leather  and  woollen” — car- 
riages “ which  keep  up  the  idea  of  equality,  the  member  of  Congress 
riding  beside  the  shoemaker  who  elected  him,  in  fraternity.”  He 
also  gives  us  in  his  amiable  way  a chapter  of  adventures  from  Bos- 
ton to  New  York,  both  by  the  land  route  and  the  sea.  He  makes 
the  best  of  every  thing,  but  does  not  show  that  he  had  a very  com- 
fortable time,  in  the  wagons  or  in  the  boats.  On  one  occasion  he 
says,  “We  left  the  place  where  we  had  slept  at  four  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  in  a carriage  without  springs.  A Frenchman  who  was 
with  me  began,  at  the  first  jolt,  to  curse  the  carriage,  the  driver, 
and  the  country.  ‘ Let  us  wait  a little,’  said  I,  ‘ before  we  form  a 

* Public  conveyances  'were  almost  unknown  except  between  a few  of  the  principal  cities.  Tbe 
Continental  Congress  had  lately  authorized  the  Postmaster  General  to  contract  for  the  transmis- 
sion of  the  mail  over  the  great  route  along  the  sea  coast,  by  a line  of  stage-wagons,  to  carry  pas- 
sengers also ; but  this  scheme  was  as  yet  very  imperfectly  executed,  so  that  members  derived 
from  it  but  little  advantage  in  their  journeys  to  New  York.  To  Philadelphia  and  Boston  the 
mails  were  sent  three  times  a week  in  the  summer,  and  twice  a week  in  the  winter.  The  “ Bos- 
ton, Albany,  and  Philadelphia  General  Stage  Office,”  was  kept  by  Samuel  Fraunces  — more 
famous  in  his  day  than  even  Niblo,  half  a century  afterward,  as  an  almost  universal  caterer  for 
the  public  entertainment  — in  Cortlandt  street;  and  stages  for  Boston  started  every  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday;  for  Albany  every  Monday  and  Thursday;  and  for  Philadelphia,  from 
Paulus  Hook,  twice  every  day,  except  Saturdays  and  Sundays,  when  they  left  but  once  a day. 
The  fare,  from  Paulus  Hook  to  Philadelphia,  was  two  dollars  a passenger  (only  half  what  is  now 
charged  on  the  railroad!)  or,  by  express,  at  eight  miles  an  hour,  one  shilling  per  mile;  or  ten 
miles  an  hour,  eighteen  pence  per  mile.  At  the  early  season  of  the  year  in  which  the  Congress 
was  summoned  to  assemble,  the  roads  in  many  places,  and  especially  the  fords  of  rivers,  were 
frequently  made  impassable  by  floods. 


118 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


judgment;  every  custom  lias  its  cause:  doubtless  there  is  some 
reason  why  this  kind  of  carriage  is  preferred  to  one  hung  with 
springs.’  In  fact,  by  the  time  we  had  run  thirty  miles,  among  the 
rocks,  we  were  convinced  that  a carriage  with  springs  would  very 
soon  have  been  overset  and  broken.”  In  the  same  spirit  he  praises 
the  inns  ; “ you  will  not  go  into  one,”  he  says,  “ without  meeting 
with  neatness,  decency,  and  dignity.  The  table  is  served  by  a 
maiden,  well  dressed,  and  pretty,  by  a pleasant  mother  whose  age 
has  not  effaced  the  agreeableness  of  her  features,  and  by  men  who 
have  that  air  of  respectability  which  is  inspired  by  the  idea  of 
equality,  and  are  not  ignoble  and  base,  like  the  greater  part  of  our 
own  tavern  keepers.”  The  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  while  travelling 
in  the  same  region,  was  not  so  well  satisfied ; he  contradicts  indeed 
nothing  which  is  advanced  by  M.  de  W&rville,  but  avers  that  while 
the  tables  of  the  sitting-rooms  were  covered  with  the  writings  of 
Milton,  Addison,  and  Richardson,  the  cellars  contained  “neither 
brandy,  nor  wine,  nor  even  rum.”  The  neophyte  of  democracy  was 
every  where  attentive  to  the  young  women,  and  he  finds  the  tedi- 
ousness of  the  wagon  beguiled  by  frequent  sights,  all  through  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Connecticut,  of  “ fair  girls,  either  driving  a carriage, 
or  alone  on  horseback,  galloping  boldly,  with  an  elegant  hat  on  the 
head,  a white  apron,  and  a calico  gown : usages  which  prove  at  once 
the  early  cultivation  of  their  reason,  (since  they  are  trusted  so 
young  to  themselves,)  the  safety  of  the  roads,  and  the  general  inno- 
cence of  manners.”  Coming  to  New  York  by  water*  he  was  de- 

* “ I ought  to  say  one  word  of  the  packet  boats  of  this  part  of  America,  and  of  the  facilities 
which  they  offer.  Though,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  more  advantageous  and  often  less  expensive  to 
go  by  iand,  yet  I owe  some  praises  to  the  cleanliness  and  good  order  observable  in  these  boats. 
The  one  which  I was  in  contained  fourteen  beds,  ranged  in  two  rows,  one  above  the  other,  and 
every  one  had  its  little  window.  The  chamber  was  well  aired,  so  that  one  did  not  breathe  that 
nauseous  air  which  infects  the  packets  of  the  English  Channel.  It  was  well  varnished,  and  the 
provisions  were  good.  There  is  not  a little  town  on  all  this  coast  which  is  without  this  kind  of 
Vessels,  going  to  New  York.  They  have  all  the  same  neatness,  the  same  embellishments,  the 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


119 


tained  by  contrary  winds,  but  assures  us  that  the  voyage  from  New- 
port is  not  unfrequently  performed  in  twenty  hours,  and  that  the 
price  of  passage  is  but  six  dollars. 

Miss  Montgomery  states  that  the  journey  from  Wilmington  to 
New  York  was  so  great  an  undertaking  that  few  persons  attempt- 
ed it,  and  they  were  regarded  as  “ travellers.”  Her  grandfather’s 
business  often  required  his  attention  there,  and  on  his  return  crowds 
of  villagers  would  come  to  hear  the  news  and  accounts  of  all  the 
wonders  he  had  seen  in  that  astonishing  city. 

III. 

A sufficient  number  of  members  having  appeared,  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  length  on  the  thirtieth  of  March  proceeded 
to  organize  itself,  and  on  the  following  week  the  Senate  was  also 
ready  for  business.  This  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution  em- 
braced a large  portion  of  the  talents,  experience  and  respectability 
of  the  country.  John  Langdon,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Charles  Carroll, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  Ralph  Izard,  were  in  the  Senate,  and 
among  the  members  of  the  House  were  Elbridge  Gerry,  Roger 
Sherman,  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  Elias  Boudinot,  Frederick  A.  Muh- 
lenberg, James  Madison,  and  young  Fisher  Ames,  soon  to  be  ac- 
knowledged the  greatest  of  American  orators. 

The  Continental  Congress  had  sat  in  the  old  City  Hall,  at  the 
corner  of  Wall  and  Nassau  streets,  where  now  stands  the  Custom 
House.  This  building  had  been  erected  nearly  a century,  and  in 
it  had  been  held  the  sessions  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  the  Su- 
preme Court,  the  Admiralty  Court,  and  the  Mayor’s  Court.  Here 
too  had  been  the  city  prison,  and  in  Broad  street,  nearly  opposite, 
had  stood  the  whipping  post  and  the  pillory.  The  City  Hall,  in- 


same convenience.  You  may  be  assured  there  is  nothing  like  them  in  the  old  countries.” — New 
Travels  in  America,  c.  iv. 


120 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


deed,  had  been  the  centre  of  all  important  business,  in  legislation, 
administration,  and  politics;  it  was  also  the  principal  resort  of 
the  lovers  of  literature,  as  it  contained  the  public  library ; and  it 
served  the  purposes  of  the  Athenian  stose,  for  gossips,  newsmongers, 
and  speculators.  Anxious  for  the  proper  accommodation  of  the 
various  branches  of  the  federal  government,  and  not  without  ex- 
pectations that  a liberal  course  on  her  part  might  cause  New  York 
to  be  made  the  permanent  capital  of  the  nation,  several  wealthy 
citizens  contributed  thirty-two  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of 
remodeling,  repairing  and  renovating  this  building,  which,  when 
completed,  received  the  new  name  of  Federal  Hall,  and  was  placed 
by  the  City  Council  at  the  disposal  of  Congress. 

The  appearance  of  Federal  Hall  was  for  that  period  very  im- 
posing, and  its  front,  toward  Broad  street,  was  particularly  admir- 
od.  The  basement  story  was  in  the  Tuscan  style,  with  seven  open- 
ings, and  four  massive  pillars  in  the  centre  supported  heavy  arches, 
above  which  rose  four  Doric  columns.  The  cornice  was  ingeni- 
ously divided  to  admit  thirteen  stars  in  the  metopes,  which  with 
the  eagle  and  other  insignia  in  the  pediment,  and  the  sculptures  of 
thirteen  arrows  surrounded  by  olive  branches  over  each  window, 
marked  it  as  a building  set  apart  for  national  purposes.  The  en- 
trance on  Broad  street  opened  into  a large  and  plainly  furnished 
room,  to  which  every  one  had  free  access,  and  beyond  this  was  the 
vestibule,  which  led,  in  front,  to  the  Hall  of  the  Representatives,  and 
through  arches  on  each  side,  by  a public  stairway  on  the  right,  and 
a private  one  on  the  left,  to  the  Senate  chamber  and  the  galleries. 
The  vestibule  was  paved  with  marble,  and  was  very  lofty,  and 
elegantly  finished.  The  lower  part  was  of  a light  rough  stone,  which 
supported  a handsome  iron  gallery,  and  the  upper  part,  which  was  in 
a less  massive  style,  was  lighted  from  a richly  ornamented  dome.  The 
Hall  of  the  Representatives  was  sixty-one  feet  long,  fifty-eight  feet 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


121 


wide,  and  thirty-six  feet  high,  and  had  an  arched  ceiling,  increasing 
its  height  in  the  centre  about  ten  feet  more.  Its  form  was  slightly 
octangular,  and  on  its  sides  were  niches  for  statues.  The  windows 
were  large,  and  placed  sixteen  feet  from  the  floor,  the  space  below 
being  finished  with  a plain  wainscot,  interrupted  only  by  four  fire- 
places, above  which  were  Ionic  columns  and  pilasters.  In  the  pan- 
els between  the  windows  were  trophies,  carved,  and  the  letters 
U.  S.  in  a cipher,  surrounded  with  laurel.  The  speaker’s  chair 
was  on  an  elevated  platform,  opposite  the  principal  entrance.  Each 
member  had  a separate  chair  and  desk.  There  were  two  galleries 
in  front  of  the  speaker’s  seat — the  lower  one  projecting  fifteen  feet, 
and  the  upper  one,  less  spacious — both  supported  without  pillars. 
These  were  intended  for  the  accommodation  of  the  friends  of  the 
members.  The  public  were  admitted  only  to  an  area  on  the  floor 
outside  the  bar.  There  were  three  small  doors,  for  common  use, 
besides  the  larger  and  less  convenient  entrance.  The  curtains  in 
this  room  were  of  light  blue  damask,  and  the  chairs  of  the  mem- 
bers were  covered  with  the  same  material. 

The  Senate  chamber  was  approached  by  the  stairs  on  the  east 
side  of  the  vestibule,  through  an  ante-chamber,  nineteen  feet  wide 
and  forty-eight  feet  long,  finished  with  Tuscan  pilasters,  and  com- 
municating with  the  iron  gallery  already  mentioned,  as  well  as  with 
the  galleries  of  the  Hall  of  the  Representatives.  This  room  was 
forty  feet  long,  thirty  feet  wide,  and  twenty  feet  high,  with  an 
arched  ceiling ; it  had  three  windows  at  each  end,  those  toward 
Wall  street  opening  into  an  external  gallery,  twelve  feet  deep,  and 
guarded  by  an  iron  railing.  In  this  gallery  the  President  of  the 
United  States  was  expected  to  take  his  oath  of  office.  The  Senate 
chamber  was  decorated  with  light  and  graceful  pilasters,  with  capi- 
tals, devised  by  the  architect,  Major  l’Enfant,  composed  of  foliage, 
in  the  midst  of  which  appeared  radiant  stars,  and  below  each  was 
16 


122 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


a small  medallion  exhibiting  tlie  initials,  U.  S.  The  ceiling  was  of 
a light  blue,  with  a sun  and  thirteen  stars  in  the  centre.  The  fire- 
places in  both  halls  were  of  a highly  polished  variegated  American 
marble.  The  President’s  chair  was  elevated  three  feet  above  the 
floor,  and  was  under  a rich  canopy  of  crimson  damask.  The  cur- 
tains of  the  windows  and  the  coverings  of  the  chairs  of  the  sena- 
tors were  of  the  same  color.  The  chairs  of  the  members  in  both 
halls,  were  arranged  in  semicircles,  and  the  floors  in  both  were  cov- 
ered with  handsome  carpets.  The  capitol  contained  several  smaller 
rooms,  for  committees,  a library,  and  other  purposes. 

Before  the  alteration  of  the  building  the  room  which  had  been 
occupied  by  the  old  Congress  contained  full  length  portraits  of  the 
King  and  Queen  of  France,  presented  to  America  by  Louis  the 
Sixteenth.  These  are  not  mentioned  among  the  decorations  which 
were  now  retained. 

IY 

The  first  business  after  the  organization  of  the  two  houses,  or 
the  sixth  of  April,  was  the  opening  and  counting  of  the  votes  for 
President  of  the  United  States.  It  was  found  that  Washinsyton 
had  received  sixty-nine,  the  whole  number  cast,  but  that  the  votes 
for  the  second  candidate  were  so  scattered  that  there  was  barely  a 
majority  for  Mr.  Adams,  who,  however,  having  next  the  highest 
number,  became  Vice  President.  The  same  day  Charles  Thomp- 
son, who  had  been  perpetual  Secretary  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
was  appointed  to  inform  George  Washington  of  his  election  to  the 
Presidency,  and  Sylvanus  Bourne  was  at  the  same  time  selected  to 
convey  to  John  Adams  information  of  his  being  chosen  Vice  Pre- 
sident. The  following  morning*  they  left  New  York,  one  for  Vir- 


* On  the  seventh  of  April,  John  Armstrong  wrote  to  General  Gates,  from  New  York:  “All 
the  world  here  are  busy  in  collecting  flowers  and  sweets  of  every  kind  to  amuse  and  delight  the 
President  in  his  approach  and  on  his  arrival.  Even  Roger  Sherman  has  set  his  head  at  work  U 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


123 


ginia,  and  the  other  for  Massachusetts ; and,  on  the  fifteenth,  a joint 
committee  of  the  two  houses  was  chosen  to  make  suitable  arrange- 
ments for  the  reception  of  the  President  and  Vice  President  in  the 
metropolis. 

Y. 


Me.  Adams  was  the  first  to  receive  official  information  of  his  elec- 
tion, and  the  first  to  arrive  in  New  York.  At  ten  o’clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  twelfth  of  April,  he  left  his  residence  in  Braintree, 
and  was  escorted  to  Boston  by  a troop  of  horse,  from  Koxbury.  As  he 
approached  the  city  the  bells  were  rung,  and  amidst  the  shouts  of  an 
immense  crowd  of  people  he  was  conducted  to  the  house  of  Governor 
Hancock,  where  he  partook  of  a collation,  with  the  principal  ma- 
gistrates and  citizens.  His  arrival  and  departure  were  signalized 
by  federal  salutes,  which  were  repeated  at  all  the  chief  places 
through  which  he  passed,  with  his  numerous  retinue,  in  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut.  At  Hartford  the  manufacturers  gave  him 
a piece  of  broadcloth  for  a suit  of  clothes,  and  the  corporation  of 
New  Haven  presented  him  with  the  freedom  of  the  city.  From 
the  Connecticut  fine  he  was  attended  by  the  Westchester  Light 
Horse,  under  Major  Pintard,  to  King’s  Bridge,  where  he  was  met 
by  the  heads  of  departments,  a great  number  of  members  of  Con- 
gress, military  officers,  and  private  citizens,  on  horseback  or  in  car- 
riages, who  conducted  him,  through  a multitude  of  people  to  the 
house  of  John  Jay,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 

devise  some  style  of  address  more  novel  and  dignified  than  “Excellency.”  Yet  in  the  midst  of 
this  admiration,  there  are  skeptics  who  doubt  its  propriety,  and  wits  who  amuse  themselves  at 
its  extravagance.  The  first  will  grumble  and  the  last  will  laugh,  and  the  President  should  be 
prepared  to  meet  the  attacks  of  both  with  firmness  and  good  nature.  A caricature  has  already 
appeared  called  ‘ The  Entry,’  full  of  very  disloyal  and  profane  allusions.  It  represents  the  General 
mounted  on  an  ass,  and  in  the  arms  of  his  man  Billy — Humphreys  leading  the  Jack,  and  chant 
ing  hosannas  and  birth-day  odes.  The  following  couplet  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of  the  devil  • 


‘ The  glorious  time  has  come  to  pass 
When  David  shall  conduct  an  ass.’ 


124 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


VI. 

As  it  had  been  popularly  known  for  several  weeks  before  the 
votes  of  the  electors  were  officially  canvassed  that  Washington  was 
unanimously  chosen  President,  his  preparations  for  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office  were  all  completed  before  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Thompson  at  Mount  Vernon,  on  the  fourteenth  of  April.  In 
a letter  to  General  Knox,  referring  to  the  delay  of  the  certificate 
of  his  election,  he  says,  “ As  to  myself  this  delay  may  be  compared 
to  a reprieve,  for  in  confidence  I tell  you,  (with  the  world  it  would 
obtain  little  credit,)  that  my  movements  to  the  seat  of  government 
will  be  accompanied  by  feelings  not  unlike  those  of  a culprit  who 
is  going  to  the  place  of  execution,  so  unwilling  am  I,  in  the  even- 
ing of  life,  nearly  consumed  in  public  cares,  to  quit  a peaceful 
abode  for  an  ocean  of  difficulties.”  He  however  informed  Mr. 
Thompson  that  at  the  end  of  two  days  he  would  be  ready  to  ac- 
company him,  and  in  the  mean  time  paid  a last  visit  to  his  venera- 
ble mother,  in  Fredericksburg.  On  coming  into  her  presence  he 
said,  “ The  people,  madam,  have  been  pleased,  with  the  most  flat- 
tering unanimity,  to  elect  me  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  United 
States ; but  before  I can  assume  the  functions  of  that  office  I have 
come  to  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell.  So  soon  as  the  public 
business  which  must  necessarily  be  encountered  in  arranging  a new 
government  can  be  disposed  of,  I shall  hasten  to  Virginia,  and  ” — 
Here  she  interrupted  him : “ You  will  see  me  no  more,”  she  said ; 
“my  great  age,  and  the  disease  that  is  rapidly  approaching  my 
vitals,  warn  me  that  I shall  not  be  long  in  this  world.  I trust  in 
God  I am  somewhat  prepared  for  a better.  But  go,  George,  fulfil 
the  high  destinies  which  Heaven  appears  to  assign  you;  go,  my 
son,  and  may  that  Heaven’s  and  your  mother’s  blessing  be  with 
you  always.”  He  was  deeply  affected;  his  head  rested  on  the 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


125 


shoulder  of  his  aged  parent,  whose  arm  feebly  yet  fondly  encircled 
his  neck.  The  scene  was  full  of  the  most  touching  sublimity. 
Both  the  mother  and  the  son  were  dissolved  in  tears  at  the  thought 
that'  they  were  embracing  each  other  for  the  last  time.  There  is 
no  fame  in  the  world  more  pure  than  that  of  the  mother  of  Wash- 
ington, and  no  woman  since  the  Mother  of  Christ  has  left  a better 
claim  to  the  affectionate  reverence  of  mankind. 

In  his  diary  he  wrote  on  the  evening  of  the  sixteenth:  “About 
ten  o’clock  I bade  adieu  to  Mount  Yernon,  to  private  life,  and  to 
domestic  felicity,  and  with  a mind  oppressed  with  more  anxious 
and  painful  sensations  than  I have  words  to  express,  set  out  for 
New  York,  with  Mr.  Thompson  and  Colonel  Humphreys,  with  the 
best  disposition  to  render  service  to  my  country  in  obedience  to  its 
call,  but  with  less  hope  of  answering  its  expectations.” 

He  wished  to  proceed  to  New  York  in  the  most  quiet  manner, 
but  the  irrepressible  enthusiasm  of  the  people  all  along  the  route 
prevented ; and  the  homage  he  received  could  not  have  been  un- 
grateful to  him,  for  he  held  it  to  be  “ a proof  of  false  modesty  or 
an  unworthy  affectation  of  humility  to  appear  altogether  insensible 
to  the  commendations  of  the  virtuous  and  enlightened  part  of  our 
species ; ” and  he  added,  “ perhaps  nothing  can  excite  more  perfect 
harmony  in  the  soul  than  to  have  this  spring  vibrate  in  unison  with 
the  internal  consciousness  of  rectitude  in  our  intentions,  and  an 
humble  hope  of  approbation  from  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  all 
things.” 

The  first  place  at  which  he  stopped  was  Alexandria,  where 
he  was  entertained  at  a public  dinner  by  his  neighbors  and  more 
immediate  personal  friends.  “ The  first  and  best  of  our  citizens,” 
said  the  Mayor,  “ must  leave  us ; our  aged  must  lose  their  ornament, 
our  youth  their  model,  our  agriculture  its  improver,  our  commerce 
its  friend,  our  infant  academy  its  protector,  our  poor  their  bene- 


126 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


factor.  . . . Farewell ! Go,  and  make  a grateful  people  happy : a 
people  who  will  be  doubly  grateful  when  they  contemplate  this 
new  sacrifice  for  their  interests.”  In  his  reply  he  said,  “ Just  after 
having  bade  adieu  to  my  domestic  connections,  this  tender  proof  of 
your  friendship  is  but  too  well  calculated  to  awaken  still  further 
my  sensibility,  and  increase  my  regret  at  parting  from  the  enjoy- 
ments of  private  life.  All  that  now  remains  for  me  is  to  commit 
myself  and  you  to  the  care  of  that  beneficent  Being,  who,  on  a 
former  occasion,  happily  brought  us  together  after  a long  and  dis- 
tressing separation.  Perhaps  the  same  gracious  Providence  will 
again  indulge  me.  But  words  fail  me.  Unutterable  sensations 
must,  then,  be  left  to  more  expressive  silence,  while  from  an  aching 
heart  I bid  all  my  affectionate  friends  and  kind  neighbors  farewell.” 

He  was  welcomed  to  Maryland  by  a collection  of  citizens  assem- 
bled at  Georgetown,  and  from  all  the  principal  places  along  his  way 
the  leading  inhabitants  came  out  to  meet  him,  and  to  welcome  him 
with  the  firing  of  cannon,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  military  dis- 
plays. Every  where  men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  conditions 
watched  to  see  him  as  he  passed  along  the  road.  Old  men  shed- 
ding tears  as  their  enthusiasm  was  rekindled  by  his  presence,  and 
mothers  holding  up  their  infant  children  that  they  might  be  able 
to  say  when  their  lives  should  be  near  their  ending  that  they  had 
looked  with  their  own  eyes  upon  the  Father  of  his  Country. 

He  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  the  beginning  of  the  evening,  and 
retired  from  the  public  supper  at  Grant’s  tavern  a little  after  ten 
o’clock.  On  the  following  morning  he  was  in  his  carriage  at  half- 
past five,  and  left  the  city  under  a discharge  of  cannon,  and  attend- 
ed, as  on  his  entrance,  by  a large  cavalcade  of  citizens,  who  accom- 
panied him  seven  miles,  when,  alighting,  he  would  not  permit  them 
to  proceed  any  farther,  but  took  leave,  thanking  them  in  an  affec- 
tionate manner  for  their  politeness. 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


127 


At  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania,  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
nineteenth,  he  was  met  by  two  troops  of  cavalry,  and  a large  num- 
ber of  citizens,  at  the  head  of  whom  were  Governor  Mifflin  and 
Judge  Richard  Peters.  They  had  left  Philadelphia  the  previous 
day,  and  waited  here  all  night  for  his  approach.  The  military  sa- 
luted him  on  his  appearance,  and  the  procession  moved  on  to  Ches- 
ter, where  they  stopped  to  breakfast.  Perceiving  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  avoid  a public  reception  in  the  city,  the  Chief  now  reluc- 
tantly ordered  his  carriage  into  the  rear  of  the  line,  and  mounting 
a superb  white  horse,  in  readiness  for  that  purpose,  and  supported 
on  one  side  by  the  venerable  messenger  of  Congress,  and  on  the 
other  by  his  old  aid-de-camp,  Colonel  Humphreys,  took  the  position 
assigned  him  in  the  cavalcade.  They  were  now  joined  by  an  im- 
mense number  of  citizens,  led  in  the  most  perfect  order  by  General 
Arthur  St.  Clair,  and  by  additional  companies  of  cavalry  from  the 
neighboring  counties.  At  Gray’s  Ferry  were  erected  on  each  side 
of  the  river  triumphal  arches,  covered  with  laurel  branches,  and 
approached  through  long  avenues  of  laurels  which  had  been  trans- 
planted from  the  forests  in  the  preceding  night.  As  he  passed 
under  the  last  arch  a youth,  concealed  in  the  foliage,  let  down 
with  the  aid  of  some  ingenious  machinery  a beautifully  ornamented 
civic  crown  of  laurel,  and  before  the  hero  was  aware,  it  embraced  his 
head,  when  tumultuous  shouts  arose  from  the  immense  multitude, 
which  every  moment  was  increased  by  crowds  from  the  town  and 
all  the  adjacent  country.  The  procession  advanced  from  the  Schuyl- 
kill to  Philadelphia  surrounded  by  not  less  than  twenty  thousand 
people,  lining  the  avenues  and  thronging  every  fence,  tree,  window, 
or  other  elevation  from  which  it  was  possible  to  obtain  a glimpse 
of  the  great  man  whom  they  almost  worshipped.  Passing  through 
the  principal  streets  he  was  saluted  at  every  step  with  cries  of  “ Long 
live  George  Washington ! ” “ Long  live  the  father  of  his  people ! ” 


128 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


until  the  procession  arrived  at  the  City  Tavern,  where  a sump- 
tuous banquet  was  provided,  and  the  Executive  Council,  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  University,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  officers 
of  the  Cincinnati,  and  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  the  city, 
hastened  to  wait  upon  him  with  their  respectful  congratulations. 
In  his  reply  to  the  Mayor,  he  said : “ When  I contemplate  the 
interposition  of  Providence,  as  it  was  visibly  manifested  in  guid- 
ing us  through  the  revolution,  in  preparing  us  for  the  reception  of 
the  general  government,  and  in  conciliating  the  good-will  of  the 
people  of  America  toward  one  another  after  its  adoption,  I feel  my- 
self oppressed  and  almost  overwhelmed  with  a sense  of  divine  mu- 
nificence. I feel  that  nothing  is  due  to  my  personal  agency  in  all 
those  wonderful  and  complicated  events,  except  what  can  be  attri- 
buted to  an  honest  zeal  for  the  good  of  my  country.”  The  festivi- 
ties of  the  day  were  continued  by  a magnificent  display  of  fire- 
works in  the  evening,  and  the  general  joy  was  manifested  in  vari- 
ous ways  until  long  after  midnight. 

In  the  morning  the  military  paraded  at  ten  o’clock  to  accom- 
pany the  chief  to  Trenton;  but  being  obliged  on  account  of  the 
weather  to  proceed  in  his  carriage  he  declined  the  intended  honor, 
for  he  could  not,  he  said,  think  of  riding  under  cover  while  his 
friends  were  exposed  to  the  rain  on  horseback.  Ascending  the  left 
bank  of  the  Delaware,  he  arrived  in  the  afternoon  near  the  scene 
where  he  had  fought  twelve  years  before,  and  the  reception  which 
awaited  him,  if  less,  imposing  than  that  in  some  other  places,  was 
singularly  graceful  and  touching.  The  clouds  had  broken  away  as 
the  day  wore  on,  and  the  sun  shone  pleasantly  down  on  the  smooth 
river,  which  was  lined  with  a vast  crowd  assembled  to  hail  his  ap- 
proach. As  he  stepped  on  to  the  shore  of  Kew  Jersey  he  was  greet- 
ed with  three  loud  huzzas,  and  after  salutes  by  the  cavalry  and  in- 
fantry the  procession  was  formed  for  marching  into  Trenton.  On 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


129 


the  bridge  across  the  Assumpink,  which  flows  through  the  town 
into  the  Delaware  — the  same  bridge  across  which  he  had  retreated 
before  the  army  of  Cornwallis  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Prince- 
ton — a triumphal  arch,  twenty  feet  high,  and  supported  by  thir- 
teen pillars,  twined  with  evergreens  and  laurel,  had  been  erected, 
solely  by  the  contributions  and  under  the  directions  of  the  women 
of  the  city.  On  the  side  toward  the  approaching  hero  was  in- 
scribed : 

THE  DEFENDER  OF  THE  MOTHERS  WILL  BE  THE  PROTECTOR  OF  THE  DAUGHTERS. 

Over  the  centre  of  the  arch  was  a cupola  on  which  were  the  dates 
of  his  glorious  actions  at  Trenton,  in  letters  of  gold,  wreathed  with 
flowers,  and  from  its  summit  was  displayed  a large  sunflower,  to  in- 
dicate that  it  was  to  him  alone  these  demonstrations  were  offered, 
that  the  whole  people  were  as  one  in  their  homage  to  his  greatness. 
A numerous  train  of  mothers,  leading  their  daughters,  all  dressed 
in  white,  was  assembled  under  and  on  each  side  of  the  arch,  and  as 
he  passed,  thirteen  young  girls,  wearing  wreaths  of  flowers  on  their 
heads,  and  holding  baskets  of  flowers  in  their  hands,  sung  the  fol- 
lowing little  ode,  written  for  the  occasion,  by  Major  Howell,  who 
had  been  an  officer  under  him  during  the  war : 

Welcome,  mighty  chief,  once  more 
Welcome  to  this  grateful  shore  ; 

Now  no  mercenary  foe 
Aims  again  the  fatal  blow — 

Aims  at  thee  the  fatal  blow. 

Virgins  fair  and  matrons  grave, 

Those  thy  conquering  arm  did  save, 

Build  for  thee  triumphal  bowers ; 

Strew,  ye  fair,  his  way  with  flowers ! 

Strew  your  hero’s  way  with  flowers ! 

and  suiting  their  action  to  the  words,  they  threw  their  flowers  in 
17 


130 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  way  before  him.  In  the  evening  he  acknowledged  these  ele- 
gant compliments  in  a brief  note,  in  which  he  said : “ General 
Washington  cannot  leave  this  place  without  expressing  his  ac- 
knowledgments to  the  matrons  and  young  ladies  who  received  him 
in  so  novel  and  grateful  a manner  at  the  Triumphal  Arch,  for  the 
exquisite  sensations  he  experienced  in  that  affecting  moment.  The 
astonishing  contrast  between  his  former  and  his  actual  situation  at 
the  same  spot,  the  elegant  taste  with  which  it  was  adorned  for  the 
present  occasion,  and  the  innocent  appearance  of  the  white-robed 
choir  who  met  him  with  the  gratulatory  song,  have  made  such  an 
impression  on  his  remembrance  as,  he  assures  them,  will  never  be 
effaced.” 

Having  crossed  New  Jersey,  Washington  was  received  at  Eliza- 
bethtown Point,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-third,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a previous  arrangement,  by  a committee  of  both 
houses  of  Congress,  with  whom  were  the  Chancellor  of  the  State, 
the  Adjutant  General,  the  Recorder  of  the  City,  and  Mr.  Jay,  Sec- 
retary for  Foreign  Affairs,  General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  Sam- 
uel Osgood,  Arthur  Lee,  and  Walter  Livingston,  Commissioners  of 
the  Treasury,  and  Ebenezer  Hazard,  Postmaster  General  — these 
heads  of  departments  continuing  to  act  until  new  arrangements 
should  be  made  under  the  constitutional  government.  A magni- 
ficent barge  had  been  constructed  for  the  occasion,  and  was  manned 
by  thirteen  master  pilots,  in  white  uniforms,  under  Commodore 
Nicholson,  to  convey  the  President  and  his  suite  to  New  York. 
Two  other  barges  had  been  fitted  up  for  the  Board  of  the  Treasury, 
the  Secretaries,  and  other  dignitaries.  The  passage  from  Eliza- 
bethtown is  graphically  described  in  a hitherto  unpublished  letter 
addressed  to  his  wife  the  next  day  by  Elias  Boudinot,  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Congress.  “You  must  have  observed,”  he  writes, 
“ with  what  a propitious  gale  we  left  the  shore,  and  glided  with 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


131 


steady  motion  across  the  Newark  Bay,  the  very  water  seeming  to 
rejoice  in  bearing  the  precious  burden  over  its  placid  bosom.  The 
appearance  of  the  troops  we  had  left  behind,  and  their  regular 
firings,  added  much  to  our  pleasure.  When  we  drew  near  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Kills  a number  of  boats,  with  various  flags,  came  up 
with  us  and  dropped  in  our  wake.  Soon  after  we  entered  the  bay 
General  Knox  and  several  other  officers,  in  a large  barge,  pre- 
sented themselves,  with  their  splendid  colors.  Boat  after  boat  and 
sloop  after  sloop,  gayly  dressed  in  all  their  naval  ornaments,  added 
to  our  train,  and  made  a most  splendid  appearance.  Before  we  got 
to  Bedloe’s  Island  a large  sloop  came,  with  full  sail,  on  our  star- 
board bow,  when  there  stood  up  about  twenty  gentlemen  and  ladies, 
who,  with  most  excellent  voices,  sung  an  elegant  ode,  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  to  the  tune  of  ‘ God  save  the  King,’  welcoming  their 
great  Chief  to  the  seat  of  government.  On  its  conclusion  we 
saluted  them,  with  our  hats,  and  then  they,  with  the  surrounding 
boats,  gave  us  three  cheers.  Soon  after  another  boat  came  under 
our  stern  and  presented  us  with  a number  of  copies  of  a second  ode, 
and  immediately  about  a dozen  gentlemen  began  to  sing  it,  in  parts, 
as  we  passed  along.  Our  worthy  President  was  greatly  affected 
with  these  tokens  of  profound  respect.  As  we  approached  the 
harbor  our  train  increased,  and  the  huzzaing  and  shouts  of  joy 
seemed  to  add  life  to  this  brilliant  scene.  At  this  moment  a num- 
ber of  porpoises  came  playing  amongst  us,  as  if  they  had  risen  up 
to  know  what  was  the  cause  of  all  this  happiness.  We  now  dis- 
covered the  shores  to  be  crowded  with  thousands  of  people  — men, 
women,  and  children  — nay,  I may  venture  to  say,  tens  of  thou- 
sands. From  the  fort  to  the  place  of  landing,  although  near  half 
a mile,  you  could  see  little  else  along  the  shore,  in  the  streets,  and 
on  board  every  vessel,  but  heads  standing  as  thick  as  ears  of  corn 
before  the  harvest.  The  vessels  in  the  harbor  made  a most  superb 


132 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


appearance  indeed,  dressed  in  all  ilieir  pomp  of  attire.  The  Span- 
ish ship  of  war,  the  Galveston,  in  a moment,*  on  a signal  given, 
discovered  twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  different  colors,  of  all  na- 
tions, on  every  part  of  the  rigging,  and  paid  us  the  compliment  of 
thirteen  guns,  with  her  yards  all  manned,  as  did  also  another  ves 
sel  in  the  harbor,  the  North  Carolina,  displaying  colors  in  the  same 
manner.  We  had  a like  compliment  from  the  battery,  of  eighteen 
pounders.  We  soon  arrived  at  the  ferry  stairs,  where  there  were 
many  thousands  of  the  citizens,  waiting  with  all  the  eagerness  of 
expectation,  to  welcome  our  excellent  patriot  to  that  shore  which 
he  regained  from  a powerful  enemy  by  his  valor  and  good  conduct. 
We  found  the  stairs  covered  with  carpeting  and  the  rails  hung  with 
crimson.  The  President,  being  preceded  by  the  committee,  was 
received  by  the  governor  and  the  citizens  in  the  most  brilliant  man- 
ner. He  was  met  on  the  wharf  by  many  of  his  old  and  faithful 
officers  and  fellow  patriots,  who  had  borne  the  heat  and  burthen 
of  the  day  with  him,  who  like  him  had  experienced  every  reverse 
of  fortune  with  fortitude  and  patience,  and  who  now  joined  the 
universal  chorus  of  welcoming  then’  great  deliverer  (under  Provi- 
dence) from  all  their  fears.  It  was  with  difficulty  a passage  could 
be  made  by  the  troops  through  the  pressing  crowds,  who  seemed 
incapable  of  being  satisfied  with  gazing  at  this  man  of  the  people. 
You  will  see  the  particulars  of  the  procession  from  the  wharf  to  the 
house  appointed  for  his  residence,  in  the  newspapers. f The  streets 
were  lined  with  the  inhabitants  as  thick  as  they  could  stand,  and 

* “ Every  ship  in  the  harbor,”  says  Colonel  Stone,  “ was  gayly  dressed  for  the  occasion  except 
the  Galveston,  a Spanish  man  of-war,  which  lay  at  anchor  displaying  only  her  own  proper  colors. 
The  contrast  which  she  presented,  when  compared  with  the  splendid  flags  and  streamers  floating 
from  every  other  vessel  in  the  bay,  especially  the  government  ship,  the  North  Carolina,  was 
universally  observed,  and  the  neglect  was  beginning  to  occasion  unpleasant  remarks,  when,  as 
the  barge  of  the  General  came  abreast,  in  an  instant,  as  if  by  magic,  the  Spaniard  exhibited 
every  flag  and  signal  known  among  nations.” 

f On  Washington’s  arrival  at  the  stairs,  prepared  and  ornamented,  at  Murray’s  Wharf,  foi 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


133 


it  required  all  the  exertions  of  a numerous  train  of  city  officers,  with 
their  staves,  to  make  a passage  for  the  company.  The  houses  were 
filled  with  gentlemen  and  ladies  the  whole  distance,  being  about 
half  a mile,  and  the  windows,  to  the  highest  stories,  were  illumi- 
nated by  the  sparkling  eyes  of  innumerable  companies  of  ladies, 
who  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  showing  their  joy  on  this 
great  occasion.  It  was  half  an  hour  before  we  could  finish  our  com- 
mission and  convey  the  President  to  the  house  prepared  for  his  re- 
sidence. As  soon  as  this  was  done,  notwithstanding  his  great  fa- 
tigue of  both  body  and  mind,  he  had  to  receive  the  gentlemen  and 
officers,  to  a very  large  number,  who  wished  to  show  their  respect 
in  the  most  affectionate  manner.  When  this  was  finished  and  the 
people  dispersed,  we  went,  undressed,  and  dined  with  his  Excellen- 
cy Governor  Clinton,  who  had  provided  an  elegant  dinner  for  us. 
Thus  ended  our  commission.  The  evening,  though  very  wet,  was 
spent  by  all  ranks  in  visiting  the  city,  street  after  street  being  illu- 
minated in  a superb  manner.  I cannot  help  stating  now  how  high- 

ins  landing,  he  was  saluted  by  Colonel  Bauman’s  artillery,  and  received  and  congratulated  by 
the  Governor  and  the  officers  of  the  state  and  the  city.  From  the  wharf  the  procession  moved 
In  the  following  order : 

Colonel  Morgan  Lewis,  accompanied  by  Majors  Morton  and  Van  Horne; 

Troop  of  Dragoons,  Captain  Stakes ; 

German  Grenadiers,  Captain  Scriba ; 

Band  of  Music ; 

Infantry  of  the  Brigade,  Captains  Swartwout  and  Stediford; 

Grenadiers,  Captain  Harsin ; 

Regiment  of  Artillery,  Colonel  Bauman ; 

Band  of  Music ; 

General  Malcom,  and  Aid ; 

Officers  of  the  Militia,  two  and  two ; 

Committee  of  Congress ; 

The  PRESIDENT ; Governor  Clinton  , 

President’s  Suite ; 

Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  New  York ; 

The  Reverend  Clergy; 

Their  Excellencies,  the  French  and  Spanish  Ambassadors,  in  their  carriages ; 

The  whole  followed  by  an  immense  concourse  of  citizens. 


134 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ly  we  were  favored  in  tlie  weather ; the  whole  procession  had  been 
completely  finished,  and  we  had  repaired  to  the  Governor’s,  before 
it  began  to  rain.  When  the  President  was  on  the  wharf  an  officer 
came  up  and,  addressing  him,  said  he  had  the  honor  to  command 
his  Guard,  and  that  it  was  ready  to  obey  his  orders.  The  Presi- 
dent answered  that,  as  to  the  present  arrangement,  he  should  pro- 
ceed as  was  directed,  but  that  after  that  was  over,  he  hoped  he 
would  give  himself  no  farther  trouble,  as  the  affection  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  (turning  to  the  crowd)  was  all  the  guard  he  wanted.” 

The  house  to  which  Washington  was  conducted,  and  which  be- 
came his  official  residence,  was  that  which  still  exists  at  the  corner 
of  Cherry  street  and  Franklin  square.  It  was  owned  by  Mr.  Os- 
good, of  the  Treasury  Board,  and  had  been  occupied  by  the  pre- 
sidents of  the  Continental  Congress.  As  his  domestic  establishment 
was  not  yet  organized  his  table  for  a few  days  was  supplied  from 
Fraunces’s  tavern,  and  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival  he  was  enter- 
tained at  dinner  by  Governor  Clinton,  with  the  Vice  President, 
the  heads  of  departments,  the  committee  of  Congress  appointed  to 
receive  him,  the  foreign  ambassadors,  and  several  other  eminent 
persons.  “ The  occasion  of  the  President’s  first  arrival  at  the 
seat  of  government,”  says  Fenno,  “ arrested  the  public  attention  be- 
yond all  powers  of  description  ; the  hand  of  industry  was  suspend- 
ed, and  the  various  pleasures  of  the  capital  were  centered  in  a sin- 
gle enjoyment.”  Some  who  were  advanced  in  years,  and  hardly 
expected  to  see  him  till  they  should  meet  in  heaven,  could  with 
difficulty  “ restrain  their  impatience  at  being  in  a measure  deprived 
of  the  high  gratification,  by  the  eagerness  of  the  multitude  of  chil- 
dren and  young  people,  who  probably  might  long  enjoy  the  bless- 
ing ; and  others  were  heard  to  say  they  should  now  die  contented, 
nothing  having  been  wanted  previous  to  this  auspicious  time  but  a 
sight  of  the  Saviour  of  his  Country.” 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  PROGRESS. 


13d 


John  Adams,  in  a speech  to  the  senate  on  taking  his  place  as 
president  of  that  body,  two  days  before  Washington’s  arrival  in 
the  city,  said  of  him,  “ Were  I blessed  with  powers  to  do  justice 
to  his  character,  it  would  be  impossible  to  increase  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  his  country,  or  make  the  smallest  addition  to  his 
glory.  This  can  only  be  effected  by  a discharge  of  the  present  ex- 
alted trust,  on  the  same  principles,  with  the  same  abilities  and 
virtues,  which  have  uniformly  appeared  in  all  his  former  life, 
public  and  private.  May  I,  nevertheless,  be  indulged  to  impure, 
If  we  look  over  the  catalogues  of  the  first  magistrates  of  nations, 
whether  they  have  been  denominated  presidents  or  consuls,  kings 
or  princes,  where  shall  we  find  one  whose  commanding  talents  and 
virtues,  whose  overruling  good  fortune,  have  so  completely  united 
all  hearts  and  voices  in  his  favor ; who  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  ad- 
miration of  foreign  nations  and  fellow  citizens  with  equal  unanimi- 
ty? ...  . By  these  great  qualities,  and  their  benign  effects,  has 
Providence  marked  out  the  head  of  this  nation,  with  a hand  so 
distinctly  visible,  as  to  have  been  seen  by  all  men  and  mistaken 
by  none.” 

Yet  the  modest  estimate  which  the  Chief  entertained  respect- 
ing his  own  abilities  brought  a melancholy  foreboding  to  mingle 
with  the  patriotic  joy  awakened  by  all  these  recent  triumphs.  The 
day  after  he  thus  entered  New  York  he  wrote  in  his  private  jour- 
nal : “ The  display  of  boats  which  attended  and  joined  us  on  this  oc- 
casion, some  with  vocal  and  some  with  instrumental  music  on  board, 
the  decorations  of  the  ships,  the  roar  of  cannon,  and  the  loud  ac- 
clamations of  the  people  which  rent  the  skies  as  I passed  along 
the  wharves,  filled  my  mind  with  sensations  as  painful  (considering 
the  reverse  of  this  scene,  which  may  be  the  case,  after  all  my  la- 
bors to  do  good,)  as  they  are  pleasing.” 

It  is  noted  among  the  incidents  of  the  day  that  the  schoonei 


136 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Columbia,  Captain  Philip  Freneau,  eight  days  from  Charleston, 
came  up  the  bay  in  time  to  take  a part  in  the  proceedings.  Philip 
Freneau,  the  bard  of  the  revolution,  was  destined  to  act  no  unim- 
portant part  in  the  secret  history  of  Washington’s  administration. 


THE  INAUGURATION. 


i. 

At  length  the  important  day  arrived  when  the  great  leader  who 
had  maintained  our  independence  in  the  field  with  so  much  wis- 
dom, prudence,  energy,  and  indomitable  perseverance,  was  to  be 
inaugurated  the  first  chief  magistrate  of  the  united  and  consolidated 
republic.  For  nearly  a fortnight  the  taverns  and  boarding-houses 
in  the  city  had  been  thronged  with  visitors,  and  now  every  private 
house  was  filled  with  guests,  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  assembled 
to  witness  the  imposing  ceremonial  which  was  to  complete  the  or- 
ganization of  the  government.  “We  shall  remain  here,  even  if  we 
have  to  sleep  in  tents,  as  so  many  will  have  to  do,”  wrote  Miss  Ber- 
tha Ingersoll  to  Miss  McKean ; * “ Mr.  Williamson  had  promised 
to  engage  us  rooms  at  Frauncis’s,  but  that  was  jammed  long  ago, 
as  was  every  other  decent  public  house ; and  now,  while  we  are 
waiting  at  Mrs.  Vandervoort’s,  in  Maiden  Lane,  till  after  dinner, 
two  of  our  beaus  are  running  about  town,  determined  to  obtain  the 
best  places  for  us  to  stay  at  which  can  be  opened  for  love,  money, 
or  the  most  persuasive  speeches.”  Another  young  woman,  after 
recounting  the  vicissitudes  of  a journey  from  Boston,  and  various 
difficulties  in  finding  agreeable  accommodations  in  the  metropolis, 

* Afterward  Marchioness  d’Yrujo. 

18 


138 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


adds  in  a postcript,  “ I have  seen  him ! and  though  I had  been  en 
tirely  ignorant  that  he  was  arrived  in  the  city,  I should  have  known 
at  a glance  that  it  was  General  Washington : I never  saw  a human 
being  that  looked  so  great  and  noble  as  he  does.  I could  fall  down 
on  my  knees  before  him  and  bless  him  for  all  the  good  he  has  done 
for  this  country.” 

II. 

The  anxiously  expected  morning  of  Thursday,  the  thirtieth 
of  April,  was  greeted  with  a national  salute  from  the  Bowling 
Green,  and  at  an  early  hour  the  streets  were  filled  with  men  and 
women,  in  their  holiday  attire,  while  every  moment  arrived  new 
crowds  from  the  adjoining  country,  by  the  road  from  King’s  Bridge, 
by  ferry  boats  from  more  distant  places,  or  by  packets  which 
had  been  all  night  on  the  Sound  or  coming  down  the  Hudson.  At 
eight  o’clock  some  clouds  about  the  horizon  caused  apprehensions 
of  an  unpleasant  day;  but  when,  at  nine,  the  bells  rung  out  a 
merry  peal,  and  presently  with  a slower  and  more  solemn  striking, 
called  from  every  steeple  for  the  people  to  assemble  in  the  churches 
“ to  implore  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  the  nation,  its  favor  and  pro- 
tection to  the  President,  and  success  and  acceptance  to  his  adminis- 
tration,” the  sun  shone  clearly  down,  as  if  commissioned  to  give  as- 
surance of  the  approbation  of  the  Divine  Ruler  of  the  world. 

As  the  people  came  out  from  the  churches,  where  Livingston, 
Mason,  Provoost,  Rodgers,  and  other  clergymen,*  had  given  passion- 

* The  list  of  clergymen,  for  the  city,  in  1789,  comprised  only  fourteen  names,  as  follows: — 
Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Rodgers ; Scotch  Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Mason ; 
Episcopal  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Provoost,  Bishop,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Beach  and  Rev.  Benjamin 
Moore;  United  Lutheran  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Christopher  Kunzie;  Methodist  Church,  Rev. 
Mr.  Morrill  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cloud ; Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Livingston  and  Rev. 
Dr.  William  Linn;  German  Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Gross;  Baptist  Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Foster;  Jewish 
Synagogue,  Rev.  Gershom  Seixas.  While  the  ministry  of  peace  exhibited  this  meagre  catalogue, 
that  of  contention — the  list  of  Supreme  Court  attorneys — embraced  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two. 


LIBRARY 
Of  (Hf 

UNIVLKSSh  Of  ilimois 


THE  INAUGURATION. 


139 


ately  earnest  and  eloquent  expression  to  tliat  reverent  and  pro- 
found desire  which  filled  all  hearts  — so  universal  was  a religious 
sense  of  the  importance  of  the  occasion  — the  military  began  to 
march  from  their  respective  quarters,  with  flaunting  banners,  and 
the  liveliest  music.  The  principal  companies  were  Captain  Stakes’s 
troop  of  horse,,  equipped  in  the  style  of  Lee’s  famous  partisan  le- 
gion; Captain  Scriba’s  German  Grenadiers,  with  blue  coats,  yellow 
waistcoats  and  breeches,  black  gaiters,  and  towering  cone-shaped 
caps,  faced  with  bear-skin ; Captain  Harsin’s  New  York  Grenadiers, 
composed,  in  imitation  of  the  guard  of  the  great  Frederick,  of  only 
the  tallest  and  finest-looking  young  men  of  the  city,  dressed  in  blue 
coafs  with  red  facings  and  gold  lace  broideries,  cocked  hats  with 
white  feathers,  and  white  waistcoats  and  breeches,  and  black  spat- 
terdashes, buttoned  close  from  the  shoe  to  the  knee ; and  the  Scotch 
Infantry,  in  full  highland  costume,  with  bagpipes. 

Ralph  Izard,  Tristram  Dalton,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate,  and  Charles  Carroll,  Egbert  Benson,  and  Fisher 
Ames,  on  the  part  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  had  been  ap- 
pointed a joint  committee  of  arrangements,  and  the  procession 
was  formed  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Colonel  Morgan 
Lewis,  in  Cherry  street,  opposite  the  President’s  house,  at  twelve 
o’clock.  After  the  military  came 

The  Sheriff  of  the  City  and  County  of  New  York, 

The  Committee  of  the  Senate, 

George  Washington, 

The  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 

John  Jay,  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs, 

Henry  Knox,  Secretary  of  War, 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
Distinguished  Citizens. 

The  procession  having  marched  through  Queen,  Great  Dock,  and 
Bioad  streets,  until  opposite  Federal  Hall,  the  troops  formed  a line 


140 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


on  each  side  of  tlie  way,  through,  which  the  President,  with  his  at- 
tendants, was  conducted  to  the  chamber  of  the  Senate,  where 
the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  had  a few  minutes 
before  assembled,  and  at  the  door  the  Vice  President  received  him 
and  waited  upon  him  to  the  chair. 

The  Vice  President  then  said,  “ Sir,  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  are  ready  to  attend  you  to 
take  the  oath  required  by  the  Constitution,  which  will  be  adminis- 
tered by  the  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York.” 

The  President  answered,  “I  am  ready  to  proceed.” 

The  Vice  President  and  the  Senators  led  the  way,  and,  accom- 
panied by  the  Chancellor,  and  followed  by  the  Representatives,  and 
other  public  characters  present,  he  then  walked  to  the  outside  gallery, 
from  which  Broad  street  and  Wall  street,  each  way,  were  perceived 
to  be  filled,  as  with  a sea  of  upturned  faces,  but  as  silent  as  if  the 
immense  concourse  had  been  of  statues  instead  of  living  men. 

The  spectacle  must  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  interesting 
and  serious.  In  the  centre,  between  two  pillars,  was  seen  the  com- 
manding figure  of  Washington,  in  a coat,  waistcoat,  and  breeches, 
of  fine  dark  brown  cloth,  and  white  silk  stockings,  all  of  American 
manufacture,  plain  silver  buckles  in  his  shoes,  his  head  uncovered, 
and  his  hair  dressed  in  the  prevailing  fashion  of  the  time.  On  one 
side  stood  the  Chancellor,  in  a full  suit  of  black  cloth,  and  on  the 
other  the  Vice  President,  dressed  more  showily,  but  like  the  Pre- 
sident entirely  in  American  fabrics.  Between  the  President  and 
the  Chancellor  was  Mr.  Otis,  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  a small  short 
man,  holding  an  open  Bible  upon  a rich  crimson  cushion,  and  con- 
spicuous in  the  group  were  Roger  Sherman,  General  Knox,  General 
St.  Clair,  Baron  Steuben,  and  others  whose  names  were  equally 
dear  and  familiar  to  the  people. 

A gesture  of  the  Chancellor  arrested  the  attention  of  the  im- 


THE  INAUGURATION. 


141 


mense  assembly,  and  be  pronounced  slowly  and  distinctly  the  words 
of  the  oath.  The  Bible  was  raised,  and  as  the  President  bowed  to 
kiss  its  sacred  pages,  he  said  audibly,  “ I swear,”  and  added,  with 
fervor,  his  eyes  closed,  that  his  whole  soul  might  be  absorbed  in 
the  supplication,  “ So  help  me  God ! ” 

Then  the  Chancellor  said,  “ It  is  done,”  and,  turning  to  the  mul- 
titude, waved  his  hand,  and  with  a loud  voice  exclaimed,  “ Long 
live  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United  States ! ” 

Immediately  the  air  was  filled  with  acclamations  and  the  roar 
of  cannon  ; the  President  bowed,  and  again  and  again  the  welkin 
rung  with  the  plaudits  of  happy  and  grateful  citizens,  who  felt  that 
Heaven  had  granted  all  their  reasonable  petitions,  and  that  the 
New  Era  dreamed  of  by  sages  and  celebrated  by  orators  and  bards 
was  now  completely  inaugurated. 

“ The  scene,”  writes  one  who  was  present  to  his  correspondent 
in  Philadelphia,  “was  solemn  and  awful  beyond  description.  It 
would  seem  extraordinary  that  the  administration  of  an  oath,  a 
ceremony  so  very  common  and  familiar,  should  in  so  great  a de- 
gree excite  the  public  curiosity ; but  the  circumstances  of  the  Pre- 
sident’s election,  the  impression  of  his  past  services,  the  concourse 
of  spectators,  the  devout  fervency  with  which  he  repeated  the  oath, 
and  the  reverential  manner  in  which  he  bowed  down  and  kissed  the 
sacred  volume,  all  these  conspired  to  render  it  one  of  the  most  au- 
gust and  interesting  spectacles  ever  exhibited It  seemed,  from 

the  number  of  witnesses,  to  be  a solemn  appeal  to  Heaven  and  earth 
at  once.  In  regard  to  this  great  and  good  man  I may  perhaps  be 
an  enthusiast,  but  I confess  that  I was  under  an  awful  and  religious 
persuasion,  that  the  gracious  Euler  of  the  Universe  was  looking 
down  at  that  moment  with  peculiar  complacency  on  an  act  which 
to  a part  of  his  creatures  was  so  very  important.”  Under  this  im- 
pression, he  proceeds  to  say  that  when  the  Chancellor  proclaimed 


142 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Washington  President,  his  sensibility  was  so  excited  that  he  could 
do  no  more  than  wave  his  hat  with  the  rest,  without  the  power  of 
joining  in  the  repeated  acclamations  which  rent  the  air. 

Few  persons  are  now  living  who  witnessed  the  induction  of  the 
first  President  of  the  United  States  into  his  office ; but  walking,  not 
many  months  ago,  near  the  middle  of  a night  of  unusual  beauty, 
through  Broadway  — at  that  hour  scarcely  disturbed  by  any  voices 
or  footfalls  except  our  own  — Washington  Irving  related  to  Dr. 
Francis  and  myself  his  recollections  of  these  scenes,  with  that 
graceful  conversational  eloquence  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  greatest 
of  living  masters.  He  had  watched  the  procession  till  the  Presi- 
dent entered  Federal  Hall,  and  from  the  corner  of  New  street  and 
Wall  street  had  observed  the  subsequent  proceedings  in  the  balcony. 

III. 

The  President,  members  of  the  Congress,  and  other  dignitaries 
and  distinguished  characters,  having  returned  to  the  Senate  cham- 
ber and  taken  their  seats,  Washington  arose  and  delivered  a short 
inaugural  speech,  alike  remarkable  as  a display  of  modesty,  dig- 
nity, and  wisdom.  Among  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life,  he  said,  none 
could  have  filled  him  with  greater  anxieties  than  his  election  to  the 
Presidency.  “ On  the  one  hand  I was  summoned  by  my  country, 
whose  voice  I can  never  hear  but  with  veneration  and  love,  from  a 
retreat  which  I had  chosen  with  the  fondest  predilection,  and,  in 
my  flattering  hopes,  with  an  immutable  decision,  as  the  asylum  of 
my  declining  years ; a retreat  which  was  rendered  every  day  more 
necessary  as  well  as  more  dear  to  me  by  the  addition  of  habit  to 
inclination,  and  of  frequent  interruptions  of  my  health  to  the  grad- 
ual waste  committed  on  it  by  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mag- 
nitude and  difficulty  of  the  trust  to  which  the  voice  of  my  country 
called  me,  being  sufficient  to  awaken  in  the  wisest  and  most  expe- 


THE  INAUGURATION. 


143 


rienced  of  her  citizens  a distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  qualifications, 
could  not  hut  overwhelm  with  despondence  one  who,  inheriting 
inferior  endowments  from  nature,  and  unpractised  in  the  duties  of 
civil  administration,  ought  to  he  peculiarly  conscious  of  his  own 
deficiences.  In  this  conflict  of  emotions  all  I dare  aver  is,  that  it 
has  heen  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my  duty  from  a just  apprecia- 
tion of  every  circumstance  by  which  it  might  he  affected;  all  I 
dare  hope  is,  that  if  in  accepting  this  task  I have  heen  too  much 
swayed  hy  a grateful  remembrance  of  former  instances,  or  by  an 
affectionate  sensibility  to  this  transcendant  proof  of  the  confidence 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have  thence  too  little  consulted  my  inca- 
pacity as  well  as  disinclination  for  the  weighty  and  untried  cares 
before  me,  my  error  will  be  palliated  by  the  motives  which  misled 
me,  and  its  consequences  judged  by  my  country  with  some  share 
of  the  partiality  in  which  they  originated.  Such  being  the  impres- 
sions under  which  I have  in  obedience  to  the  public  summons  re- 
paired to  the  present  station,  it  would  be  peculiarly  improper  to 
omit  in  this,  my  first  official  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that 
Almighty  Being  who  rules  over  the  universe,  who  presides  in  the 
councils  of  nations,  and  whose  providential  aids  can  supply  every 
human  defect,  that  his  benediction  may  consecrate  to  the  liberties 
and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  a government 
instituted  by  themselves  for  these  essential  purposes,  and  may  ena- 
ble every  instrument  employed  in  its  administration  to  execute 
with  success  the  functions  allotted  to  his  charge.  In  tendering 
this  homage  to  the  great  Author  of  every  public  and  private  good, 
I assure  myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than  my 
own,  nor  those  of  our  fellow-citizens  at  large  less  than  either.  No 
people  can  be  bound  to  acknowledge  and  adore  the  invisible  Hand 
which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men,  more  than  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  Every  step  by  which  they  have  advanced  to  the 


144 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


character  of  an  independent  nation  seems  to  have  been  distinguished 
by  some  token  of  providential  agency,  and  in  the  important  revo- 
lution just  accomplished  in  the  system  of  this  united  government, 
the  tranquil  deliberations  and  voluntary  consent  of  so  many  distinct 
communities,  from  which  the  event  has  resulted,  cannot  be  com- 
pared with  the  means  by  which  most  governments  have  been  estab-  ' 
lished,  without  some  return  of  pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  hum- 
ble anticipation  of  the  future  blessings  which  the  past  seem  to  pre- 
sage. These  reflections,  arising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced 
themselves  too  strongly  on  my  mind  to  be  suppressed.  You  will 
join  with  me,  I trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none  under  the 
influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a new  and  free  government, 
can  more  auspiciously  commence.”  These  are  sentiments  most 
worthy  of  the  greatest  of  men,  and  their  perfect  and  profound 
justice  can  never  be  questioned,  except  by  the  intellectually  weak 
or  the  morally  depraved.  Intimating  briefly  his  unwillingness, 
until  he  should  become  more  familiar  with  the  condition  of  public 
affairs,  to  recommend  any  specific  action  to  the  representatives  of 
the  people,  and  suggesting  that  he  desired,  as  when  holding  his 
former  office  of  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  no  compensation 
for  his  services,  but  only  the  repayment  of  his  actual  expenses,  he 
closed  with  renewed  expressions  of  his  devout  gratitude  to  Heaven, 
and  supplications  for  further  aid,  protection,  and  direction.* 

The  President,  Vice  President,  Senators,  Eepresentatives,  Heads 
of  Departments,  and  many  others,  then  proceeded  to  St.  Paul’s 
Chapel  in  Broadway,  where  prayers  suited  to  the  occasion  were 
read  by  Dr.  Provoost,  recently  elected  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 

* The  Senate,  a few  days  afterwards,  and  soon  after  the  House  of  Representatives,  went  in 
long  lines  of  carriages  from  Federal  Hall  to  the  President’s  house,  to  present  their  answers  to  the 
inauguration  speech.  The  members  of  the  lower  House,  as  we  learn  from  a MS.  letter  of  Elias 
Boudinot,  had  a very  unpleasant  time  of  it,  in  consequence  of  the  rain,  but  they  were  delighted 
with  their  gracious  reception. 


THE  INAUGURATION. 


145 


Episcopal  Church  in  New  York,  who  had  been  selected  by  the 
Senate  to  be  one  of  the  chaplains  of  Congress.  These  services  over, 
the  President  was  escorted  back  to  his  own  house. 

IY. 

In  the  evening  the  city  was  brilliantly  illuminated,  and  there 
was  a display  of  fireworks,  under  Colonel  Bauman,  surpassing 
any  thing  of  the  kind  hitherto  seen  in  New  York.  Between  the 
Bowling  Green  and  the  Fort,  at  the  foot  of  Broadway,  was  a large 
transparent  painting,  in  the  centre  of  which  appeared  a portrait  of 
Washington,  under  a figure  of  Fortitude,  and  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  were  exhibited,  one  on  the  right,  and  the  other 
on  Uhe  left,  under  the  forms  of  Justice  and  Wisdom.  The  ship 
Carolina,  off  the  Fort,  seemed  like  a pyramid  of  stars.  Federal 
Hall  presented  in  every  window  a sheet  of  light.  The  front  of  the 
Theatre,  in  John  street,  was  almost  covered  with  transparencies,  one 
of  which  represented  Fame,  descending  like  an  angel  from  Heaven, 
and  crowning  Washington  with  the  emblems  of  immortality.  A 
very  large  number  of  private  residences  were  also  illuminated,  and 
none  more  tastefully  or  brilliantly  than  those  of  the  French  and 
Spanish  ministers,  the  Count  de  Moustier  and  Don  Diego  Gardoqui, 
which  were  both  in  Broadway,  near  the  Bowling  Green.  The 
doors  and  windows  of  M.  de  Moustier  displayed  borderings  of 
lamps,  which  shone  upon  numerous  paintings,  ingeniously  sugges- 
tive of  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  in  American  history ; 
and  there  were  also  over  the  front  of  the  house  large  and  striking 
transparencies,  which  are  described  as  having  done  great  honor  to 
the  taste  and  sentiment  of  the  inventor,  probably  Madame  de  Bre- 
han,  the  Count’s  sister,  who  was  always  industrious  with  her  pencil 
when  not  occupied  with  more  immediate  duties  to  society.  The 
Spanish  minister’s  residence  was  still  more  elaborately  and  effect- 
19 


146 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ively  ornamented.  In  tire  principal  transparency  were  seen  figures 
of  the  Graces,  exceedingly  well  executed,  among  a pleasing  variety 
of  patriotic  emblems,  and  trees,  flowers,  arches,  and  fountains ; and 
in  the  windows  were  moving  pictures,  so  skilful  in  design  and 
accomplishment  as  to  present  the  illusion  of  living  panoramas,  “ the 
whole,”  according  to  Fenno’s  Gazette,  “ affording  a new,  an  ani- 
mated, and  an  enchanting  spectacle.” 

Mr.  Lear  mentions,  in  a diary  which  he  kept  at  the  time,  that 
in  the  beginning  of  the  evening  the  President,  Colonel  Humphreys, 
and  himself,  went  in  a carriage  to  the  houses  of  Chancellor  Living- 
ston and  General  Knox,  where  they  had  a full  view  of  the  fire- 
works, and  that  they  returned  home  at  ten  o’clock,  on  foot,  the 
throng  of  people  in  the  streets  being  so  great  as  not  to  permit  a 
carriage  to  pass. 

y. 

Under  these  favorable  auspices,  surrounded  and  sustained  by 
the  most  able  and  eminent  men  of  the  country,  and  encouraged  by 
the  most  enthusiastic  demonstrations  of  popular  respect  and  affec- 
tion, Washington  entered  upon  that  career  of  civil  administration 
in  which  the  sagacious  student  of  history  recognizes  as  much 
bravery  of  temper,  solidity  of  understanding,  and  steady  and 
unselfish  devotion  to  the  common  welfare,  as  had  marked  that 
military  conduct  which  caused  Frederic,  the  hero  of  Prague,  Pos- 
bach,  and  Lissa,  to  send  him  his  sword,  inscribed,  “ From  the 
oldest  general  in  Europe  to  the  greatest  general  in  the  world,”  and 
Napoleon  to  hail  him  as  “ the  Great  Washington.” 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


i. 

Foe  several  days  after  the  inauguration  Washington  was  occu- 
pied nearly  every  moment  with  public  business,  and  the  amount  of 
official  labor  which  he  performed  seems  almost  incredible.  His  first 
purpose  was  to  acquaint  himself  intimately  with  the  details  of  do- 
mestic and  foreign  affairs,  and  with  this  view  he  instructed  Mr.  Jay, 
General  Knox,  and  the  commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  (who  con- 
tinued to  exercise  their  functions  till  Congress  passed  laws  for  the 
reorganization  and  support  of  their  respective  departments,)  to  pre- 
sent elaborate  reports,  which  he  read,  and  with  his  own  hand  re- 
produced, in  abstracts,  the  better  to  impress  their  contents  on  his 
memory ; and  that  he  might  more  perfectly  understand  our  rela- 
tions with  other  governments  he  studied,  from  beginning  to  end, 
with  pen  in  hand,  all  the  correspondence  which  had  accumulated 
in  the  foreign  secretary’s  office  since  the  treaty  of  peace  and  the 
termination  of  the  war. 

In  the  midst  of  these  arduous  avocations  he  found  time,  never- 
theless, to  arrange  with  Samuel  Fraunces,*  his  steward,  the  details 
of  his  household  economy,  and  to  attend  to  the  more  important 


* “ Black  Sam,”  as  Fraunces  was  familiarly  called,  must  have  been  at  this  time  not  far  from 
sixty  years  of  age.  Washington  had  long  been  familiar  with  him  as  a popular  host,  and  had  em- 
ployed his  daughter  as  housekeeper,  at  Richmond  Hill,  while  the  head-quarters  of  the  army  were 


148 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


calls  of  ceremony,  courtesy  and  curiosity,  though  in  regard  to  these 
he  was  relieved  in  a considerable  degree  by  the  serviceable  inter- 
ference of  Colonel  Humphrey,  who  instinctively  understood  what 
parties  were  best  entitled  to  an  audience,  and  in  what  manner  to 
send  away  without  offence  those  whom  it  was  least  necessary  for 
the  President  personally  to  receive. 


in  the  city.  It  was  by  means  of  this  daughter  that  an  attempt  to  poison  the  Chief,  during  that 
period,  was  frustrated.  As  early  as  1761,  Fraunces  kept  a tavern,  and  sold  “portable  soup, 
catchup,  bottled  gooseberries,  pickled  walnuts,  pickled  or  fryed  oysters  fit  to  go  to  the  We^t 
Indies,  pickled  mushrooms,  currant  jelly,  marmalade,”  <kc.,  at  the  “sign  of  the  Mason's  Arms, 
near  the  Green.”  He  afterward  opened  the  Vauxhall  Gardens,  in  Greenwich  street,  and  in  1771 
his  celebrated  City  Tavern,  in  Broad  street,  where  Washington  took  leave  of  the  officers  of  the 
army,  on  the  fourth  of  December,  1783.  There  were  several  clubs  in  New  York  previous  to  the 
war;  one,  called  “The  Moot,”  and  composed  principally  of  lawyers,  was  organized  in  1770,  and 
held  its  last  meeting  on  the  sixth  of  January,  1775.  To  this  belonged  William  Livingston,  Rob- 
ert R.  Livingston,  John  Jay,  Stephen  De  Lancey,  Gouverneur  Morris,  James  Duane,  and  about  a 
dozen  others,  a majority  of  whom  subsequently  filled  important  public  places.  Another  was  the 
Social  Club,  which  “ passed  Saturday  evenings  at  Sam.  Fraunces’s,  corner  of  Broad  and  Dock  streets, 
in  winter,  and  in  summer  at  Kip’s  Bay,  where  they  built  a neat  large  room  for  a club  house.”  This 
club  was  broken  up  in  December,  1775.  The  following  biographical  list  of  its  members,  written 
by  the  John  Moore  whose  name  is  at  the  end  of  it,  is  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society : 


“John  Jay,  — Disaffected  — Became  Member  of  Congress,  a Resident  Minister  to  Spain,  Commissioner  to  make 
Peace,  Chief  Justice,  Minister  to  England,  and  on  his  return  Governor  of  New  York  — 
a good  and  amiable  man. 

Member  of  Congress,  Minister  to  France,  &c. 

Minister  to  France,  Chancellor  of  New  York,  &c. 

District  Judge,  New  York,  and  in  the  Legislature.  A good  man. 

Governor  of  New  York,  and  a General  in  the  war  of  1S12. 
but  in  Europe  until  17S3.  President  of  the  New  York  Bank. 


“ Gouverneur  Morris,  “ 
“RobL  R.  Livingston,  “ 
“ Egbert  Benson,  “ 

“ Morgan  Lewis,  “ 

“Gulian  Yerplanck,  “ 
“John  Livingston  and 
his  brother  Henry,  “ 
“ James  Seagrove,  “ 

“ Francis  Lewis,  “ 

“John  Watts,  — Doubtful 
“ Leonard  Lispenard  and 
his  brother  Anthony, 


but  of  no  political  importance, 
went  to  the  southward  as  a merchant, 
but  of  no  political  importance. 

-during  the  war  Recorder  of  New  York. 

but  remained  quiet  at  New  York. 


“Rich’d  Harrison, — Loyal — but  has  since  been  Recorder  of  New  York. 

“John  Hay,  “ an  officer  in  the  British  army.  Killed  in  the  West  Indies. 

“Peter  Yan  Schaack,  “ a lawyer,  remained  quiet  at  Kinderhook. 

“ Daniel  Ludlow,  “ during  the  war.  Since  President  of  the  Manhattan  Bank. 

“Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  “ though  in  1775  doubtful,  remained  in  New  York.  A good  man. 

“ George  Ludlow,  “ remained  on  Long  Island  in  quiet  A good  man. 

“William,  his  brother,  “ or  supposed  so  — remained  on  Long  Island.  Inoffensive  man. 

“William  Imlay,  “ at  first  — but  doubtful  after  1777. 

“ Edward  Gould,  “ at  New  York  all  the  war  — a merchant. 

“John  Reade — Pro.  and  Con. — Would  have  proved  loyal,  no  doubt,  had  not  his  wife’s  family  been  otherwise 
“ J.  Stevens,  — Disaffected. 

“Henry  Kelly,  — Loyal  — went  to  England,  and  did  not  return. 

“Stephen  Rapelye— turned  out  bad.  Died  in  the  New  York  Hospital. 

“John  Moore,  — Loyal  — in  public  life  during  all  the  war,  and  from  the  year  1765.” 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


149 


It  soon  became  apparent,  however,  that  particular  rules  must 
be  established  for  receiving  visitors  and  entertaining  company.  The 
first  step  taken  was  a public  intimation,  two  or  three  days  after  the 
inauguration,  that  he  would  receive  visits  on  Tuesdays  and  Fri- 
days, between  the  hours  of  two  and  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  that 
visits  of  compliment  on  other  days,  and  particularly  on  Sundays, 
would  not  be  agreeable  to  him.  He  at  the  same  time  consulted 
several  of  his  more  immediate  friends  on  the  subject,  intimating 

Washington’s  confidence  in  Fraunces’s  judgment  had  been  illustrated  in  1785,  when  he  wrote 
to  him  from  Mount  Vernon : 

“ is  no  person  can  judge  better  of  the  qualifications  necessary  to  constitute  a good  housekeeper,  or  household 
steward,  thau  yourself,  for  a family  which  has  a good  deal  of  company,  and  wishes  to  entertain  them  in  a plain  but  gen- 
teel style,  I take  the  liberty  of  asking  you  if  there  is  any  such  one  in  your  reach,  whom  you  think-eould  be  induced 
to  come  to  me  on  reasonable  wages.  I would  rather  have  a man  than  a woman ; but  either  will  do,  if  they  can  bo 
recommended  for  honesty,  sobriety,  and  knowledge  in  their  profession;  which,  in  one  word,  is  to  relieve  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington from  the  drudgery  of  ordering,  and  seeing  the  table  properly  covered,  and  things  economically  used 

The  wages  I now  give  to  a man,  who  is  about  to  leave  me  in  order  to  get  married,  (under  which  circumstances  he 
would  not  suit  me,)  is  about  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum ; but  for  one  who  understands  the  business  perfectly,  and 
stands  fair  in  all  other  respects,  I would  go  as  far  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.” 

The  first  public  appearance  of  Fraunces  in  his  new  capacity  was  in  the  following  advertisement, 
published  in  the  newspapers  : 

“ Whereas,  all  servants  and  others  appointed  to  procure  provisions  or  supplies  for  the  household  of  tue  President 
of  the  United  States  will  be  furnished  with  monies  for  these  purposes : Notice  is  therefore  given , That  no  accounts, 
for  the  payment  of  which  the  public  might  be  considered  as  responsible,  are  to  be  opened  with  any  of  them. 

“ May  4th,  1789.  Samuel  Fraunces,  Steward  of  the  Household .” 

“ We  are  happy  to  inform  our  readers,  in  addition  to  the  preceding  notification,”  says  Fenno’s 
Gazette,  “ that  the  President  is  determined  to  pursue  that  system  of  regularity  and  economy  in 
his  household  which  has  always  marked  his  public  and  private  life.  As  a proof  of  this,  we  learn 
that  the  steward  is  obliged,  by  his  articles  of  agreement,  to  exhibit  weekly  a fair  statement  of 
the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  moneys  by  him,  for  and  on  account  of  the  President’s  house- 
hold, to  such  person  as  the  President  may  appoint  to  inspect  the  same ; together  with  the  several 
bills  and  receipts  of  payment  for  those  articles  which  may  be  purchased  by  him,  where  such 
bills  and  receipts  can  be  obtained.  And  it  is  likewise  strongly  inculcated  on  the  steward  to 
guard  against  any  waste  or  extravagance  that  might  be  committed  by  the  servants  of  the  family.” 

An  anecdote  illustrative  of  the  President’s  personal  economy  refers  to  the  following  winter. 
Fraunces,  it  is  related,  was  always  anxious  to  provide  the  first  dainties  of  the  season  for  his 
table.  On  one  occasion,  making  his  purchases  at  the  old  Vly  Market,  he  observed  a fine  shad, 
the  first  of  the  season.  He  was  not  long  in  making  a bargain,  and  the  fish  was  sent  home 
with  his  other  provisions.  The  next  morning  it  was  duly  served,  in  the  best  style,  for  break- 
fast, on  sitting  down  to  which  Washington  observed  the  fragrant  delicacy,  and  asked  what  it 
was;  the  steward  replied,  that  it  was  “a  fine  shad.”  “It  is  very  early  in  the  season  for  shad: 
how  much  did  you  pay  for  it?”  “Two  dollars.”  “Two  dollars!  I can  never  encourage  this 
extravagance  at  my  table,  take  it  away— I will  not  touch  it.”  The  shad  was  accordingly 
removed,  and  Fraunces,  who  had  no  such  economical  scruples,  made  a hearty  meal  upon  it  in 
his  own  room. 


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that  it  was  his  wish  to  adopt  such  a system,  as,  without  overstep- 
ping the  limits  of  republican  simplicity,  would  best  maintain  the 
dignity  of  the  office,  and  secure  to  the  President  such  a command 
of  his  time  as  was  necessary  to  the  proper  performance  of  his  du- 
ties. About  a week  after  the  inauguration,  at  his  request,  Mr. 
Hamilton  addressed  to  him  a letter,  embracing  such  suggestions  as 
he  deemed  appropriate,  and  these  were  in  the  main  adopted.  The 
customs  thus  introduced  have  ever  since  governed  the  intercourse 
of  the  executive  with  society.  It  was  decided  that  the  President 
should  return  no  visits,  that  invitations  to  dinner  should  be  given  only 
to  official  characters  and  strangers  of  distinction,  and  that  visits  of 
courtesy  should  be  confined  to  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  in  each  week. 
Foreign  ministers  and  strangers  were,  however,  received  on  other 
days,  and  the  President  was  always  accessible  to  persons  who  wished 
to  see  him  on  business.  At  a subsequent  period  his  house  was  open 
in  the  same  manner  on  Fridays  for  visits  to  Mrs.  Washington, 
which  were  on  a still  more  sociable  footing,  and  at  which  the 
Chief  was  always  present. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  “Anas,”  has  this  statement : “ When  the 
President  went  to  New  York,  he  resisted  for  three  weeks  the  efforts  to 
introduce  levees.  At  length  he  yielded,  and  left  it  to  Humphreys 
and  some  others  to  settle  the  forms.  Accordingly  an  ante-chamber 
and  presence-room  were  provided,  and  when  those  who  were  to  pay 
their  court  were  assembled  the  President  set  out,  preceded  by  Hum- 
phreys. After  passing  through  the  ante-chamber,  the  door  of  the 
inner  room  was  thrown  open,  and  Humphreys  entered  first,  calling 
out  with  a loud  voice,  ‘ The  President  of  the  United  States ! ’ The 
President  was  so  much  disconcerted  by  it  that  he  did  not  recover 
in  the  whole  time  of  the  levee  ; and  when  the  company  was  gone, 
he  said  to  Humphreys,  ‘ Well,  you  have  taken  me  in  once,  but,  by 
God,  you  shall  never  take  me  in  a second  time.’  ” 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


151 


How  entirely  erroneous  this  is,  in  every  particular,  may  be 
seen  from  Washington’s  own  statement  respecting  the  institution 
of  the  levees,  as  given  in  a letter  to  his  relation,  Hr.  Stuart.  “ Be- 
fore the  custom  was  established,”  he  says,  “ which  now  accommo- 
dates foreign  characters,  strangers,  and  others,  who  from  motives 
of  curiosity,  respect  to  the  chief  magistrate,  or  any  other  cause,  are 
induced  to  call  upon  me,  I was  unable  to  attend  to  any  business  what- 
ever ; for  gentlemen,  consulting  their  own  convenience  rather  than 
mine,  were  calling  after  the  time  I rose  from  breakfast,  and  often 
before,  until  I sat  down  to  dinner.  This,  as  I resolved  not  to  neg- 
lect my  public  duties,  reduced  me  to  the  choice  of  one  of  these 
alternatives : either  to  refuse  visits  altogether,  or  to  appropriate  a 
time  for  the  reception  of  them.  The  first  would,  I knew,  be  dis- 
gusting to  many  ; the  latter,  I expected,  would  undergo  animadver- 
sion from  those  who  would  find  fault,  with  or  without  cause.  I 
therefore  adopted  that  line  of  conduct  which  combined  public  ad 
vantage  with  private  convenience,  and  which  in  my  judgment  was 
unexceptionable  in  itself.  These  visits  are  optional ; they  are  made 
without  invitation ; between  the  hours  of  three  and  four,  every 
Tuesday,  I am  prepared  to  receive  them.  Gentlemen,  often  in 
great  numbers,  come  and  go ; chat  with  each  other,  and  act  as  they 
please.  A porter  shows  them  into  the  room,  and  they  retire  from 
it  when  they  choose,  without  ceremony.  At  their  first  entrance 
they  salute  me,  and  I them,  and  as  many  as  I can,  I talk  to.  What 
‘ pomp  ’ there  is  in  all  this  I am  unable  to  discover.” 

On  Sundays  the  President  attended  church,  in  the  morning, 
unless  detained  by  indisposition,  passed  the  afternoon  in  his  own 
apartment,  at  home,  and  in  the  evening  remained  with  his  family, 
without  company,  though  sometimes  an  old  or  intimate  friend  was 
admitted  for  an  hour  or  two.  Every  night  it  was  his  custom  to 
retire  to  his  library  at  nine  or  ten  o’clock,  and  to  remain  there  an 


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hour  before  he  went  to  his  chamber ; and  he  always  rose  before  the 
sun,  and  occupied  himself  in  his  library  until  called  to  breakfast. 

II. 

Another  subject  which  caused  much  discussion  in  society  as 
well  as  in  Congress  was  that  of  titles.  We  have  already  seen  from 
a letter  by  General  Armstrong  to  General  Gates,  that  “ even  Roger 
Sherman  had  set  his  head  at  work  to  devise  some  style  of  address 
to  the  President  more  novel  and  dignified  than  ‘ Excellency,’  ” before 
Washington  arrived  in  the  city.  The  first  movement  in  Congress 
in  relation  to  this  matter  was  on  the  twenty-third  of  April,  when 
committees  were  appointed  in  both  houses  to  consider  and  report 
what  styles  or  titles  it  would  be  proper  to  annex  to  the  offices  of 
President  and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  if  any,  other  than 
those  given  in  the  Constitution.  On  the  fifth  of  May  the  Repre- 
sentatives decided  against  all  titles  whatever.  In  the  Senate,  on 
the  seventh,  the  committee  proposed  that  the  President  should  be 
addressed  as  “His  Excellency,”  but  this  proposition  was  rejected, 
and  a new  committee  appointed,  who,  on  the  fourteenth,  recom- 
mended the  style  of  “ His  Highness  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  Protector  of  them  Liberties.”  The  Repre- 
sentatives, however,  still  refusing  to  sanction  any  title  except  that 
indicated  in  the  Constitution,  the  Senate  finally  passed  a resolution 
declaring  that,  “ from  a decent  respect  for  the  opinion  and  practice 
of  civilized  nations,  whether  under  monarchical  or  republican  forms 
of  government,  whose  custom  is  to  annex  titles  of  respectability  to 
the  offices  of  their  chief  magistrates,  and  that  in  intercourse  with 
foreign  nations  a due  respect  for  the  majesty  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  might  not  be  hazarded  by  an  appearance  of  singular- 
ity,” it  had  been  of  opinion  that  it  was  expedient  to  make  use  of 
some  such  distinction  in  addressing  the  head  of  the  government ; 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


153 


but  that,  desirous  o£  preserving  harmony  with  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, it  would  conform  to  its  practice,  and  adopt  the  simple 
style,  “ To  the  President  of  the  United  States.” 

Before  the  meeting  of  Congress  this  subject  had  been  discussed 
by  some  distinguished  characters  at  a dinner  table  in  Philadelphia. 
The  wife  of  Dr.  Shippen  was  from  Virginia,  and  in  consequence  of 
this,  probably,  the  doctor  invited  several  members  of  the  delega- 
tion of  that  state,  while  in  Philadelphia,  on  their  way  to  New  York, 
to  dine  at  his  house ; and  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  Page,  Mr.  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  and  one  or  two  others  accepted,  and  met,  from  the  city,  Chief 
Justice  McKean,  Mr.  William  Bingham,  and  Dr.  Ashbel  Green. 
Soon  after  the  company  were  assembled,  the  Chief  Justice  asked 
Mr.  Madison  if  he  had  thought  of  a title  for  the  President.  Mad- 
ison answered  that  he  had  not,  and  added,  that  in  his  opinion  no 
title  except  that  of  President  would  be  necessary  or  proper.  “ Yes, 
sir,”  replied  McKean,  “ he  must  have  a title,  and  I have  been  examin- 
ing the  titles  of  the  princes  of  Europe  to  discover  one  that  has  not 
been  appropriated;  ‘Most  Serene  Highness’  is  used,  but  Serene 
Highness,  without  the  word  ‘ Most,’  is  not ; and  I think  it  proper 
that  our  Chief  magistrate  should  be  known  as  His  Serene  High- 
ness the  President  of  the  United  States.”  An  amicable  controversy 
ensued,  Madison  and  his  colleagues  on  one  side,  and  McKean  and 
probably  Bingham  on  the  other. 

General  Muhlenberg  states  that  Washington  himself  was  in 
favor  of  the  style  of  “ High  Mightiness,”  used  by  the  Stadtholder 
of  Holland,  and  that  while  the  subject  was  under  discussion  in 
Congress  he  dined  with  the  President,  and,  by  a jest  about  it,  for  a 
time  lost  his  friendship.  Among  the  guests  was  Mr.  Wynkoop,  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  was  noticeable  for  his  large  and  commanding 
figure.  The  resolutions  before  the  two  houses  being  referred  to, 
the  President,  in  his  usual  dignified  manner,  said,  “ Well,  General 
20 


154 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


Muhlenberg,  what  do  you  think  of  the  title  of  High  Mightiness  ? ” 
Muhlenberg  answered,  laughing,  “Why,  General,  if  we  were 
certain  that  the  office  would  always  be  held  by  men  as  large  as 
yourself  or  my  friend  Wynkoop,  it  would  be  appropriate  enough, 
but  if  by  chance  a president  as  small  as  my  opposite  neighbor 
should  be  elected,  it  would  become  ridiculous.”  This  evasive  reply 
excited  some  merriment  about  the  table,  but  the  Chief  looked 
grave,  and  his  evident  displeasure  was  increased  soon  after  by 
Muhlenberg’s  vote,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  against  con- 
ferring any  title  whatever  upon  the  President. 

Mr.  Adams  was  understood  to  be  decidedly  in  favor  of  titles, 
and  he  had  adopted  in  his  equipage  and  manner  of  living  a style 
which  seemed  to  him  appropriate  to  the  dignity  of  his  official  posi- 
tion. At  this  many  members  of  Congress,  especially  some  from  the 
South,  took  offence,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Tudor  Tucker,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, referred  to  him  in  a very  marked  manner  in  a speech  on  the  sub- 
ject of  titles,  saying,  “ This  spirit  of  imitation,  this  apishness,  will  be 
the  ruin  of  our  country,  and  instead  of  giving  us  dignity  in  the 
eyes  of  foreigners  will  only  expose  us  to  be  laughed  at  ” 

III. 

Some  preparations  had  been  made  by  the  managers  of  the  City 
Assemblies  for  an  Inauguration  Ball,  but  as  Mrs.  Washington  did 
not  accompany  the  President  to  New  York  the  design  was  aban- 
doned. A week  after,  however — on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the 
seventh  of  May  — a very  splendid  ball  was  given  at  the  Assem- 
bly Rooms,  at  which  the  President,  the  Vice  President,  a major- 
ity of  the  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  the  French  Minis- 
ter, the  Spanish  Minister,  the  Governor  of  New  York,  Chancellor 
Livingston,  Baron  Steuben,  General  Knox,  Mr.  Jay,  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton, and  a great  number  of  other  distinguished  persons,  were 


LIBRARY 

OF 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


/ 


N«VYbrlc  Agrplutou  \ ■ Mfi  ft  348  F.ro*Away 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


155 


present.  “ The  collection  of  ladies,”  says  a contemporary,  “ was 
numerons  and  brilliant,  and  they  were  dressed  with  consummate 
taste  and  elegance  ” * The  Assembly  Room  was  on  the  east  side 
of  Broadway,  a little  above  Wall  street,  and  it  was  decorated  on 
this  occasion  with  tasteful  and  appropriate  magnificence. 

Among  the  most  distinguished  women  at  this  ball  were  Lady 
Stirling,  and  her  two  daughters,  Lady  Mary  Watts  and  Lady 


* The  costume  of  the  time  is  very  well  illustrated  by  the  portraits  iu  this  volume,  but  some 
readers  may  be  interested  in  the  remarks  on  the  dresses  of  women  which  form  a portion  of 
Colonel  Stone’s  description  of  the  ball  above  referred  to.  “ Few  jewels,”  he  says,  “ were  then 
worn  in  the  United  States;  but  in  other  respects,  the  dresses  were  rich  and  beautiful,  according 
to  the  fashions  of  the  day.  We  are  not  quite  sure  that  we  can  describe  the  full  dress  of  a lady 
of  rank  at  the  period  under  consideration,  so  as  to  render  it  intelligible.  But  we  will  make  the 
attempt.  One  favorite  dress  was  a plain  celestial  blue  satin  gown,  with  a white  satin  petticoat. 
On  the  neck  was  worn  a very  large  Italian  gauze  handkerchief,  with  border  stripes  of  satin.  The 
head-dress  was  a pouf  of  gauze,  in  the  form  of  a globe,  the  creneaux  or  head-piece  of  which  was 
composed  of  white  satin,  having  a double  wing,  in  large  plaits,  and  trimmed  with  a wreath  of 
artificial  roses,  falling  from  the  left  at  the  top  to  the  right  at  the  bottom,  in  front,  and  the  reverse 
behind.  The  hair  was  dressed  all  over  in  detached  curls,  four  of  which,  in  two  ranks,  fell  on 
each  side  of  the  neck,  and  were  relieved  behind  by  a floating  chignon.  Another  beautiful  dress 
was  a perriot,  made  of  gray  Indian  taffeta,  with  dark  stripes  of  the  same  color, — having  two 
collars,  the  one  yellow,  and  the  other  white,  both  trimmed  with  a blue  silk  fringe,  and  a reverse 
trimmed  in  the  same  manner.  Under  the  perriot  they  wore  a yellow  corset  or  boddice,  with 
large  cross  stripes  of  blue.  Some  of  the  ladies  with  this  dress  wore  hats  a V Espagnole,  of  white 
satin,  with  a band  of  the  same  material  placed  on  the  crown,  like  the  wreath  of  flowers  on  the 
head-dress  above  mentioned.  This  hat,  which,  with  a plume,  was  a very  popular  article  of  dress, 
was  relieved  on  the  left  side,  having  two  handsome  cockades,  — one  of  which  was  at  the  top,  and 
the  other  at  the  bottom.  On  the  neck  was  worn  a very  large  plain  gauze  handkerchief,  the  ends 
of  which  were  hid  under  the  boddice,  after  the  manner  represented  in  Trumbull’s  and  Stuart’s 
portraits  of  Lady  Washington.  Round  the  bosom  of  the  perriot  a frill  of  gauze,  a la  Henri  IV, 
was  attached,  cut  in  points  around  the  edge.  There  was  still  another  dress  which  was  thought 
to  be  very  simple  and  pretty.  It  consisted  of  a perriot  and  petticoat,  both  composed  of  the  same 
description  of  gray  striped  silk,  and  trimmed  round  with  gauze,  cut  in  points  at  the  edges  in  the 
manner  of  herrisons.  The  herrisons  were  indeed  nearly  the  sole  trimmings  used  for  the  perriots, 
caracos,  and  petticoats  of  fashionable  ladies,  made  either  of  ribbons  or  Italian  gauze.  With  this 
dress  they  wore  large  gauze  handkerchiefs  upon  their  necks,  with  four  satin  stripes  around  the 
border,  two  of  which  were  narrow,  and  the  others  broad.  The  head-dress  was  a plain  gauze 
cap,  after  the  form  of  the  elders  and  ancients  of  a nunnery.  The  shoes  were  celestial  blue,  with 
rose-colored  rosettes.  Such  are  descriptions  of  some  of  the  principal  costumes ; and  although 
varied  in  divers  unimportant  particulars,  by  the  several  ladies,  according  to  their  respective  tastes 
and  fancies,  yet,  as  with  the  peculiar  fashions  of  all  other  times,  there  was  a general  correspond- 
ence of  the  outlines, — the  tout  ensemble  was  the  same.” 


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Kitty  Duer;  Mrs.  Peter  Van  Brugli  Livingston,  who  was  a sister 
of  the  late  Lord  Stirling,  Mrs.  Montgomery,  widow  of  the  hero  of 
Quebec,  Lady  Christiana  Griffin,  Lady  Temple,  the  Marchioness  de 
Brehan,  Madame  de  la  Forest,  Mrs.  Clinton,  Mrs.  Jay,  Mrs.  Hamil- 
ton, Mrs.  Provoost,  wife  of  Bishop  Provoost,  Mrs.  Duane,  wife  of 
the  Mayor,  Mrs.  Dalton,  wife  of  a senator  from  Massachusetts.  Mrs. 
Langdon,  wife  of  a senator  from  New  Hampshire,  Mrs.  Dominick 
Lynch,  Mrs.  Elbridge  Gerry,  Mrs.  William  S.  Smith,  Mrs.  James 
H.  Maxwell,  Mrs.  Beekman,  Mrs.  Robinson,  the  Misses  Living- 
ston, the  Misses  Bayard,  and  Miss  Van  Zandt.  The  President 
danced  during  the  evening  in  the  cotillion  with  Mrs.  Peter  Van 
Brugli  Livingston  and  Mrs.  Maxwell,  and  with  the  latter  in  a 
minuet.  He  had  repeatedly  danced  with  Mrs.  Maxwell,  then 
Miss  Van  Zandt,  while  the  headquarters  of  the  army  were  at 
Morristown. 

On  this  occasion  an  agreeable  surprise  was  prepared  by  the 
managers  for  every  woman  who  attended.  A sufficient  number 
of  fans  had  been  made  for  the  purpose  in  Paris,  the  ivory  frames  of 
which  displayed,  as  they  were  opened,  between  the  hinges  and  the 
elegant  paper  covering,  an  extremely  well  executed  medallion  por- 
trait of  Washington,  in  profile,  and  a page  was  appointed  to  pre- 
sent one,  with  the  compliments  of  the  managers,  as  each  couple 
passed  the  receiver  of  the  tickets. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  to  illustrate  “the  frenzy  which  prevailed  in 
New  York  on  the  opening  of  the  new  government,”  gives  an  ac- 
count of  this  ball,  on  the  authority  of  a “ Mr.  Brown.”  He  says : 

“ At  the  first  public  ball  which  took  place  after  the  President’s 
arrival  there,  Colonel  Humphreys,  Colonel  William  S.  Smith,  and 
Mrs.  Knox,  were  to  arrange  the  ceremonials.  These  arrangements 
were  as  follows  : a sofa  at  the  head  of  the  room,  raised  on  several 
steps,  whereon  the  President  and  Mrs.  Washington  were  to  be 


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157 


seated ; the  gentlemen  were  to  dance  with  swords  ; each  one,  when 
going  to  dance,  was  to  lead  his  partner  to  the  foot  of  the  sofa,  make 
a low  obeisance  to  the  President  and  his  lady,  then  go  and  dance, 
and,  when  done,  bring  his  partner  back  again  to  the  foot  of  the 
sofa,  for  new  obeisances,  and  finally  retire  to  their  chairs.  It  was 
to  be  understood,  too,  that  gentlemen  should  be  dressed  in  bags. 
Mrs.  Knox  contrived  to  come  with  the  President,  and  to  follow  him 
and  Mrs.  Washington  to  their  destination,  and  she  had  the  design 
of  forcing  from  the  President  an  invitation  to  a seat  on  the  sofa. 
She  mounted  up  the  steps  after  them,  unbidden,  but  unfortunately 
the  wicked  sofa  was  so  short,  that,  when  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Washington  were  seated,  there  was  not  room  for  a third  person,  and 
she  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  descend,  in  the  face  of  the  company, 
and  to  sit  where  she  could.  In  other  respects  the  ceremony  was 
conducted  rigorously  according  to  the  arrangements,  and  the  Presi- 
dent made  to  pass  an  evening  which  was  a very  disagreeable  one 
to  him.”  Several  of  these  statements  were  adopted  by  the  late 
Colonel  Stone,  in  an  account  which  he  published  of  the  first  ball 
after  the  inauguration ; and  Mr.  Hildreth,  I am  surprised  to  per- 
ceive, has  repeated  them  in  his  History  of  the  United  States ; but 
they  are  all  utterly  untrue.  That  the  President  occupied  no  such 
stately  position,  on  an  elevated  platform,  is  sufficiently  apparent  from 
the  fact  that  he  danced  at  least  in  two  cotillions  and  one  minuet ; 
as  for  Mrs  Washington,  she  was  not  present,  nor,  for  more  than  a 
fortnight  afterwards,  in  the  city ; and  Mrs.  Knox  was  at  this  time 
in  a situation  which  prevented  her  appearance  in  society. 

On  the  following  Thursday,  the  fourteenth  of  May,  the  Count 
de  Moustier  gave  a magnificent  ball  in  honor  of  the  President,  at 
his  house  in  Broadway.  It  is  described  in  a letter  by  one  of  the 
young  women  present,  to  a friend  in  Philadelphia,  as  remarkable 
for  the  good  taste  and  elegance  of  all  the  appointments.  “ I heard 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


tlie  Marchioness,”  she  says,  “ declare  she  had  exhausted  every  resource 
to  produce  an  entertainment  worthy  of  France.”  Our  alliance  with 
that  country  was  celebrated  by  two  sets  of  cotillion  dancers  in  com- 
plete military  costume : one  in  that  of  France,  and  the  other  in 
the  American  buff  and  blue.  Elias  Boudinot  the  next  day  wrote 
to  his  wife : “ Last  evening  we  spent  at  the  Count  de  Moustier’s, 

where  was  a most  splendid  ball  indeed.  After  the  President  came, 
a company  of  eight  couple  formed  in  the  other  room  and  entered, 
two  by  two,  and  began  a most  curious  dance,  called  En  Ballet. 
Four  of  the  gentlemen  were  dressed  in  French  regimentals,  and 
four  in  American  uniforms ; four  of  the  ladies  with  blue  ribbons 
round  their  heads  and  American  flowers,  and  four  with  red  roses  and 
flowers  of  France.  These  danced  in  a very  curious  manner,  some- 
times two  and  two,  sometimes  four  couple  and  four  couple,  and 
then  in  a moment  all  together,  which  formed  great  entertainment 
for  the  spectators,  to  show  the  happy  union  between  the  two  na- 
tions. Three  rooms  were  filled,  and  the  fourth  was  most  elegantly 
set  off  as  a place  for  refreshment  A long  table  crossed  this  room, 
in  the  middle,  from  wall  to  wall.  The  whole  wall,  inside,  was  cov- 
ered with  shelves,  filled  with  cakes,  oranges,  apples,  wines  of  all 
sorts,  ice  creams,  <fcc.,  and  highly  lighted  up.  A number  of  servants 
from  behind  the  table,  supplied  the  guests  with  every  thing  they 
wanted,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  came  in  to  refresh  themselves, 
which  they  did  as  often  as  a party  had  done  dancing,  and  made 
way  for  another.  We  retired  about  ten  o’clock,  in  the  height  of 
the  jollity.” 

Besides  attending  these  balls  we  find  that  Washington  was  pre- 
sent also,  on  the  sixth  of  May,  at  the  annual  commencement  of  Co- 
lumbia College,  with  the  Vice  President,  the  Senate,  the  House  of 
Bepresentatives,  and  the  principal  officers  of  the  national  and  state 
administrations.  On  the  eleventh,  with  the  Vice  President,  Gover- 


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159 


nor  Clinton,  Count  de  Moustier,  and  many  other  citizens  and  foreign- 
ers of  distinction,  he  attended  the  theatre.  And  almost  every  day, 
for  several  weeks,  he  was  occupied  more  or  less  with  receiving  and 
answering  the  addresses  of  legislative  and  other  public  bodies  on 
his  accession  to  the  presidency. 

IY 

Mbs.  Washington  was  now  fifty-seven  years  of  age.  She  had 
been  a very  handsome  woman,  thirty  years  before,  when  she  mar- 
ried Colonel  Washington,  and  in  the  admirable  picture  of  her  by 
Woolaston,*  painted  about  the  same  time,  we  see  something  of  that 
pleasing  grace  which  is  said  to  have  been  her  distinction.  Born  of 
a good  family  and  heiress  of  a liberal  fortune,  Martha  Dandridge 

* Considering  the  great  excellence  of  some  of  his  works,  it  is  astonishing  that  we  know  so 
little  of  John  Woolaston,  a painter  who  was  unquestionably  of  the  first  class  in  portraiture,  and 
whose  colors,  at  the  end  of  a century  and  a half,  have  the  fresh  brilliancy  of  their  first  display 
on  the  canvas.  The  industrious  Dunlap  says,  “ a gentleman  of  this  name  painted  in  Philadelphia 
in  1758,  and  in  Maryland  as  early  as  1759-60:  I know  nothing  more  of  him.”  Several  of  his 
works  which  I had  seen  interested  me  so  much  that  I hunted  through  a dozen  dictionaries  of 
painters  for  information  respecting  his  history,  and  was  despairing,  when  I saw  in  the  “ Picture 
Collector’s  Manual,”  by  J.  R.  Hobbes,  that  “John  Woolaston,  born  in  London  about  1672,  painted 
portraits  whose  only  merit  consisted  in  their  being  good  likenesses.”  Horace  Walpole  says  of  the 
same  person  that  “ he  painted  portraits  at  a very  low  rate,  though  they  had  the  merit  of  strong 
resemblance.”  The  British  Museum,  we  learn  also  from  the  “ Anecdotes  of  Painters,”  contains  a 
remarkable  portrait  by  him  of  Thomas  Brittan,  a celebrated  character,  with  whom  he  was  very 
intimate,  and  at  whose  concerts  he  used  to  play  on  the  violin  and  the  flute.  That  he  was  in 
Philadelphia  as  early  as  1758  we  know  from  a copy  of  verses  addressed  to  him  in  that  year  by 
Frances  Hopkinson ; that  he  was  in  Virginia  in  the  previous  year  appears  from  the  date  of  his  por- 
trait of  Mrs.  Custis ; and  he  painted  numerous  pictures  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  and  South 
Carolina.  If  Lord  Orford  is  right  as  to  the  date  of  his  birth,  he  must  have  been  at  this  period 
not  less  than  eighty-five  years  of  age ; and  if  his  chief  merit  was  the  faithfulness  of  his  like- 
nesses, Mrs.  Custis  might  well  conquer  him  who  other  whiles  never  moved  except  to  victory. 
But  the  portrait  of  Mrs.  Washington,  in  her  youth,  which  has  been  engraved  for  this  volume, 
from  the  original,  at  Aldington  House,  is  deserving  of  praise  for  every  good  quality  which  can 
enter  into  the  composition  of  such  a work;  and  several  other  pictures  by  Woolaston,  particularly 
a full  length  of  Mrs.  Smith,  a sister  of  Mr.  Rutledge,  which  I saw  in  Charleston,  may  be  favor- 
ably compared  with  the  later  and  more  celebrated  works  of  Reynolds  and  Lawrence.  Mr.  Custis, 
who  is  himself  a painter,  writing  to  me  from  Arlington  House  last  year,  says : “ I have  three  of 
the  works  of  Woolaston,  and  they  compare  favorably  with  two  magnificent  pictures  in  my  col- 
lection here  by  Vandyke  and  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller.” 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


had  troops  of  suitors  before  her  first  marriage,  at  seventeen ; and 
when,  a few  years  after,  as  the  richest  and  handsomest  widow  in 
Virginia,  Mrs.  Daniel  Parke  Custis  attracted  the  tender  regard  of 
the  young  soldier  of  Mount  Vernon,  there  was,  of  course,  abund- 
ant competition  ; but  only  the  brave  deserve  the  fair,  and  in  this 
case  only  the  bravest  could  win  the  fairest.  It  was  certainly  a love 
match ; few,  upon  the  whole,  have  been  happier ; and  its  only  mis- 
fortune was  doubtless  fortunate  for  the  world,  since  greatness  is 
rarely  transmissible,  and  any  descendant  of  Washington,  however 
respectable,  would  have  seemed  in  history  but  a small  satellite,  too 
frequently  passing  between  us  and  his  impressive  and  luminous 
grandeur.  During  the  revolution  Mrs.  Washington  had  remained 
as  much  as  possible  with  the  Chief.  At  the  close  of  each  campaign 
an  aid-de-camp  repaired  to  Mount  Vernon,  to  escort  her,  and  her 
arrival  in  camp,  in  a plain  chariot,  with  postillions  in  white  and 
scarlet  liveries,  was  always  an  occasion  of  general  happiness,  and 
a signal  for  the  wives  of  other  principal  officers  to  join  their  hus- 
bands. With  the  army,  and  all  the  successions  of  eminent  and 
curious  strangers  who  visited  the  head-quarters,  at  Cambridge,  Val- 
ley Forge,  Morristown,  New  Windsor,  Newburgh,  or  elsewhere,  she 
was  eminently  popular.  The  gay  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  a grand- 
son of  the  great  d’Aguesseau,  described  her  at  the  end  of  the  con- 
test as  “ one  of  the  best  women  in  the  world,  and  beloved  by  all 
about  her.”*  In  the  six  years  from  the  peace  till  Washington  was 
chosen  President,  she  dispensed  the  ample  hospitalities  of  Mount 
Vernon  with  a tact  and  graciousness  which  won  the  applause  of  her 
numerous  guests,  many  of  whom  left  her  praises  in  their  correspon- 
dence. “ Every  thing  about  the  house,”  said  Brissot  de  Warville, 

* But  there  were  no  democrats  in  those  days ; when  this  sort  of  people  came  into  fashion, 
during  the  French  revolution,  full  grown,  she  cherished  against  them  an  intensity  of  dislike  which 
made  it  quite  impossible  for  even  the  most  amiable  of  that  patriotic  class  to  regard  her  with  any 
affection  whatever. 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


161 


“ has  an  air  of  simplicity ; the  table  is  good,  but  not  ostentatious, 
and  no  deviation  is  seen  from  regularity  and  domestic  economy ; 
she  superintends  the  whole,  and  joins  to  the  qualities  of  an  excel- 
lent housewife  the  simple  dignity  which  ought  to  characterize  a 
woman  whose  husband  has  acted  the  greatest  part  on  the  theatre 
of  human  affairs,  while  possessing  that  amiability  and  manifesting 
that  attention  to  strangers  which  render  hospitality  so  charming.” 

Mrs.  Washington  had  not  been  ready  oi  had  not  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  leave  Mount  Vernon  with  the  General,  on  the  sixteenth  of 
April ; but  more  than  a month  afterward,  on  the  nineteenth  of  May, 
with  her  grandchildren,  Eleanor  Custis  and  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis,  she  set  out  for  New  York,  in  her  private  carriage, 
with  a small  escort  on  horseback.  Approaching  Baltimore,  the 
same  evening,  she  was  met  at  Hammond’s  Ferry  by  several  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens,  and  received  with  such  other  demonstra- 
tions of  affection  and  consideration  as  her  brief  stay  admitted. 
Fireworks  were  discharged  before  and  after  supper,  and  she  was 
serenaded  by  an  excellent  band  of  musicians,  composed  of  gentle- 
men of  the  city.  “ Like  her  illustrious  husband,”  we  learn  from  the 
journals  of  the  day,  “ she  was  clothed  in  the  manufactures  of  our  own 
country,  in  which  her  native  goodness  and  patriotism  appeared  to 
the  greatest  advantage.” 

Information  having  reached  Philadelphia,  by  an  express  appoint- 
ed for  the  purpose,  that  she  would  breakfast  the  next  morning  at 
Chester,  two  troops  of  dragoons,  under  Captains  Miles  and  Bing- 
ham, left  town  at  an  early  hour,  with  a numerous  cavalcade  of  citi- 
zens, among  whom  were  the  President  of  the  State  and  the  Speaker 
of  the  General  Assembly ; and  having  arrived  at  a place  about  ten 
miles  distant  they  awaited  there  her  appearance,  which  was  presently 
announced,  when  the  military  formed  and  proceeded  to  receive  her 
with  the  honors  due  to  the  commander-in-chief.  The  occasion  re- 


21 


162 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


called  those  interesting  scenes  during  the  war,  in  which  her  presence 
alleviated  the  care-oppressed  hero’s  sufferings,  and  revived  his 
heart  and  quickened  his  brain  for  those  terrible  conflicts  and  that 
profound  policy  which  were  destined  to  be  crowned  with  so  com- 
plete a success  in  our  independence.  As  the  procession  defiled  on 
either  side  for  her  carriage  to  pass,  every  countenance  betrayed 
feelings  of  the  most  grateful  and  affectionate  consideration.  At 
Darby,  a pleasant  village  seven  miles  south-west  of  Philadelphia, 
she  was  met  by  a brilliant  company  of  women,  in  carnages,  who 
attended  her  to  Gray’s  Ferry,  the  favorite  resort  of  pleasure-loving 
people  of  the  city,  where  she  partook  of  a collation,  hastily  pre- 
pared at  the  fashionable  inn  there,*  for  more  than  one  hundred 
persons.  From  Gray’s  Ferry  Mrs.  Kobert  Morris  occupied  a seat 
beside  Mrs.  Washington,  who  was  to  be  her  guest,  resigning  her 
own  carriage  to  young  Custis,  and  at  about  two  o’clock  the  proces- 
sion entered  High  street,  near  her  residence,  greeted  by  the  ring- 
ing of  bells,  the  discharge  of  thirteen  guns  from  the  park  of  artil- 
lery under  Captain  Fisher,  and  the  cheering  shouts  of  an  immense 


* “ Gray’s  Ferry,”  says  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  Liancourt,  during  Washington’s  ad- 
ministration, “ presents  a most  pleasing  view : the  toll-house,  situated  amid  large  points  of  rock 
which  here  skirt  the  south  hank  of  the  Schuylkill,  the  trees  scattered  here  and  there  amongst 
them,  and  a considerable  number  of  sailing  vessels  belonging  to  an  adjoining  inn,  form  altogether 
a truly  interesting  scene.  This  inn  is  a place  of  general  resort  for  parties  of  pleasure  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  is  frequently  visited  in  the  winter  by  the  young  people  of  Philadelphia,  who  travel 
there  in  sledges,  dine,  and  sometimes  pass  the  night  there  in  dancing.”  The  banks  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill, in  a few  years,  were  celebrated  by  Moore,  who  often  resorted  to  these  agreeable  shades  with 
Dennie  and  Hopkinson ; but  they  were  already  familiar  in  song.  Apostrophizing  Gray’s  Ferry, 
in  1'78'7,  a bard  informs  us  that: 

“ The  Paphian  queen  and  all  her  winged  loves 
For  this  have  left  their  high  Idalian  groves, 

Here,  with  the  muses,  passed  their  flowing  hours, 

Near  the  cool  stream,  or  in  the  shady  bowers, 

While  the  sweet  nine  their  golden  harps  have  strung 
And  Waller’s  verse  on  Sacharissa  sung. 

Thus  did  Apollo  for  his  choir  prepare 
A seat  removed  from  public  strife  and  care, 

For  which  the  muse,  in  gratitude,  has  brought 
To  Schuylkill’s  bank  the  Greek  and  Eoman  thought ; 

There,  to  her  Barlow,  given  the  sounding  striDg, 

And  first  taught  Smith,  and  Humphreys,  how  to  sing." 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


163 


concourse  of  joyous  people.  Here  Mrs.  Washington,  taking  leave 
of  her  escort,  thanked  the  troops  and  citizens  in  the  most  gracious 
manner  for  their  polite  attention. 

The  next  day  she  received  many  demonstrations  of  respectful 
attachment,  and  recalled  to  Mrs.  Morris,  as  her  doors  were  con- 
tinually thronged  with  distinguished  visitors,  the  different  temper 
with  which  she  had  been  received  when  on  her  way  to  join  the 
General,  at  Cambridge,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  revo- 
lution* So  prevalent  was  the  disaffection  at  that  time  that  but  few 
women  called  upon  her,  and  a ball,  to  which  she  and  Mrs.  Hancock 
had  been  invited,  was  postponed  lest  it  should  lead  to  a riot.  She 
left  on  Monday  morning,  her  party  increased  by  Mrs.  Morris,  who 
attended  her,  in  her  own  carriage.  At  an  early  hour  the  troops 
paraded  with  an  intention  to  escort  her  as  far  as  Trenton,  but  the 
weather  proving  rainy  Mrs.  Washington  requested  them  to  return, 
and  they  took  a respectful  leave  of  her,  a few  miles  from  the  city. 

At  Trenton,  where  she  slept  on  Monday  night,  and  at  Elizabeth- 
town, where  she  and  her  party  were  guests  of  the  venerable  Living- 
ston, Mrs.  Washington  was  received  with  similar  evidences  of  affec- 
tionate respect. 

* In  Christopher  Marshall’s  Diary,  for  the  twenty-fourth  of  November,  1'7'75,  it  is  stated  that 
a committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Lady  Washington,  and  express  the  great  regard  entertained 
for  her  by  the  committee  met  at  the  Philosophical  Hall  (a  sort  of  Committee  of  Safety),  request- 
ing her  to  accept  of  their  grateful  acknowledgments  and  respect,  “ due  to  her  on  account  of  her 
near  connection  with  our  worthy  and  brave  General,  now  exposed  in  the  field  of  battle  in  de- 
fence of  our  rights  and  liberties,  and  desire  her  not  to  grace  that  company  to  which,  we  are 
informed,  she  has  an  invitation  this  evening,”  &c.  Major  Bayard,  one  of  the  committee,  the  next 
day  reported  that  Lady  Washington  received  them  with  great  politeness,  thanked  them  for  their 
kind  regard  in  giving  her  such  timely  notice,  and  assured  them  of  her  ready  agreement  with 
their  wishes.  Mr.  William  B.  Reed,  in  his  Memoir  of  President  Reed,  explains  this  state  of  feel- 
ing at  that  time  by  saying,  “ Philadelphia,  though  the  colonial  metropolis,  was  of  no  great  extent 
or  population ; village-like  in  its  character,  there  were  very  well  defined  rules  of  society,  such 
as  in  a village  are  apt  to  be  offensively  distinct ; these  social  distinctions  had  been  rather  rudely 
trampled  down  in  the  first  disturbance  of  the  revolution,  and  the  conduct  of  those  connected 
with  the  proprietory  or  other  pseudo-aristocratic  connections,  had  not  been  such  as  to  conciliate 
popular  regard.” 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


On  Wednesday  morning,  at  five  o’clock,  the  President  departed 
from  New  York,  accompanied  by  Robert  Morris  and  several  other 
distinguished  persons,  in  his  splendid  barge  — manned,  as  on  the 
occasion  of  its  presentation  to  him  on  his  own  arrival  at  Elizabeth- 
town, by  thirteen  pilots,  in  handsome  white  dresses  — to  meet  his 
wife  and  conduct  her  to  her  new  home.  As  the  beautiful  vessel  was 
seen  returning,  great  numbers  gathered  on  the  wharves ; as  it  ap- 
proached the  battery,  it  was  saluted  with  thirteen  guns ; and  as  its 
distinguished  passengers  landed,  they  were  greeted  by  crowds  of 
citizens,  assembled  to  testify  their  participation  in  the  happiness 
which  the  Chief  must  feel  at  this  reunion  with  his  beloved  family. 

The  principal  women  of  the  metropolis  hastened  to  pay  their 
compliments  to  the  wife  of  the  President.  Mrs.  George  Clinton, 
Mrs.  Montgomery,  Lady  Stirling,  Lady  Kitty  Duer,  Lady  Mary 
Watts,  Lady  Temple,  Lady  Christiana  Griffin,  the  Marchioness  de 
Brehan,  Madame  de  la  Forest,  Mrs.  John  Langdon,  Mrs.  Tristram 
Dalton,  Mrs.  Knox,  Mrs.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Mrs.  Livingston  of 
Clermont,  the  Misses  Livingston,  Mrs.  Thompson,  Mrs.  Gerry,  Mrs. 
McComb,  Mrs.  Egdar,  Mrs.  Lynch,  Mrs.  Houston,  Mrs.Provoost,  Mrs. 
Beekman,  the  Misses  Bayard,  and  many  others,  called  on  Thursday 
morning. 

Although  it  was  the  rule  for  the  President  to  give  no  formal 
invitations,  yet  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
Vice  President  Adams,  Governor  Clinton,  the  Count  de  Moustier, 
Don  Diego  Gardoqui,  Mr.  Jay,  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Sena- 
tors Langdon,  Wingate,  Izard,  and  Few,  and  Mi*.  Muhlenberg, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  dined  at  his  table  en  fa- 
mille.  Mr.  Wingate  has  left  us  a description  of  this  dinner.  It 
was  the  least  showy,  he  says,  of  any  he  ever  saw  at  the  President’s 
table.  As  there  was  no  clergyman  present,  Washington  himself 
said  grace,  on  taking  his  seat.  He  dined  on  a boiled  leg  of  mutton, 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


165 


It  was  his  custom  to  eat  of  only  one  dish.  After  the  dessert  a sin- 
gle glass  of  wine  was  offered  to  each  of  the  guests,  and  when  it  was 
drunk  the  President  rose,  all  the  company  of  course  following  his 
example,  and  repaired  to  the  drawing-room,  whence  every  one 
departed  as  he  chose,  without  the  least  ceremony. 

On  the  evening  of  Friday,  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  two  days 
after  her  arrival,  Mrs.  Washington  held  her  first  levee,  which  was 
attended  by  a numerous  and  most  respectable  company.  The  Pre- 
sident continued  to  receive  such  persons  as  chose  to  call  upon  him, 
every  Tuesday  afternoon,  and  from  this  time  the  drawing-rooms 
of  the  presidential  residence  were  opened  from  eight  till  ten  o’clock 
every  Friday  evening  for  visits  to  Mrs.  Washington,  at  which  the 
Chief  was  always  present.  These  assemblages  were  marked  by  as 
little  ostentation  or  restraint  as  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  respecta- 
ble circles.  They  were  accessible  to  persons  connected  with  the 
government  and  their  families,  to  distinguished  strangers,  and  in- 
deed to  all  men  and  women  whose  social  position  entitled  them  to 
a recognition  in  polite  and  cultivated  society,  while  they  furnished 
opportunities  for  visits  of  civility  and  courtesy  by  the  more  inti- 
mate friends  of  the  President  and  his  household.* 


* Colonel  Stone  remarks  very  justly  of  these  levees  or  receptions,  that  “ they  were  numer- 
ously attended  by  all  that  was  fashionable,  elegant,  and  refined  in  society ; but  there  were  no 
places  for  the  intrusion  of  the  rabble  in  crowds,  or  for  the  mere  coarse  and  boisterous  partisan — 
the  vulgar  electioneerer — or  the  impudent  place-hunter — with  boots,  and  frock-coats,  or  round 
abouts,  or  with  patched  knees,  and  holes  at  both  elbows.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  select,  and 
more  courtly  than  have  been  given  by  any  of  his  successors.  Proud  of  her  husband’s  exalted 
fame,  and  jealous  of  the  honors  due,  not  only  to  his  own  lofty  character,  but  to  the  dignified  sta- 
tion to  which  a grateful  country  had  called  him,  Mrs.  Washington  was  careful  in  her  drawing- 
rooms to  exact  those  courtesies  to  which  she  knew  he  was  entitled,  as  well  on  account  of  personal 
merit,  as  of  official  consideration.  Fortunately,  moreover,  democratic  rudeness  had  not  then  so 
far  gained  the  ascendency  as  to  banish  good  manners ; and  the  charms  of  social  intercourse  were 
heightened  by  a reasonable  attention,  in  the  best  circles,  to  those  forms  and  usages  which  indi- 
cate the  well-bred  assemblage,  and  fling  around  it  an  air  of  elegance  and  grace,  which  the  envi- 
ous only  affect  to  decry,  and  the  innately  vulgar  only  ridicule  and  contemn.  None,  therefore, 
were  admitted  to  the  levees,  but  those  who  had  either  a right  by  official  station  to  be  there,  or  were 
entitled  to  the  privilege  by  established  merit  and  character;  and  full  dress  was  required  of  all.” 


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Y. 

The  residence  provided  by  Congress  for  the  President,  as  has 
already  been  mentioned,  was  number  three  Cherry  street,  now 
known  as  the  corner  of  Cherry  street  and  Franklin  square*  It  was 
regarded  as  “ up  town,”  and  was  a considerable  distance  from  the 
most  fashionable  quarter,  which  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wall 

* The  residences  of  the  President,  Vice  President,  and  Members  of  Congress,  as  put  down  in 
the  “Register  for  1789,”  will  he  interesting,  not  only  as  indicating  the  persons  thus  connected 
with  the  government,  but  as  suggesting  the  limits  of  that  part  of  the  city  which  was  occupied 
by  the  better  classes  of  society.  The  list  is  here  copied  in  full:  “GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
Esquire,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  Commander  of  the  Army  and  Navy  thereof  when 
in  actual  service,  No.  3 Cherry  street.  John  Adams,  Esquire,  Vice  President,  Greenwich  Road. 
Senators  of  the  United  States : New  Hampshire,  John  Langdon  and  Paine  Wingate,  37  Broad 
street;  Massachusetts,  Tristram  Dalton,  37  Broad  street,  Caleb  Strong,  15  Great  Dock  street; 
Connecticut,  William  Samuel  Johnson,  at  the  College,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  193  Water  street; 
New  York,  [senators  not  yet  chosen];  New  Jersey,  Jonathan  Elmer,  48  Great  Dock  street,  Wil- 
liam Paterson,  51  Great  Dock  street;  Pennsylvania,  William  Maclay,  at  Mr.  Vandolsom’s,  near 
the  Bear  Market,  Robert  Morris,  39  Great  Dock  street;  Delaware,  Richard  Bassett  and 
George  Read,  15  Wall  street;  Maryland,  Charles  Carroll,  52  Smith  street,  John  Henry,  27 
Queen  street;  Virginia,  William  Grayson,  57  Maiden  Lane,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  at  Greenwich; 
South  Carolina,  Pierce  Butler,  37  Great  Dock  street,  Ralph  Izard,  Broadway,  opposite  the 
French  ambassador’s;  Georgia,  William  Few,  90  William  street,  James  Gunn,  34  Broadway; 
Samuel  A.  Otis,  Secretary,  5 Wall  street.  Representatives  of  the  United  States : New  Hampshire, 
Nicholas  Gilman,  corner  of  Smith  and  Wall  streets,  Samuel  Livermore,  37  Broad  street,  Ben- 
jamin West,  (absent);  Massachusetts,  Fisher  Ames,  George  Leonard,  George  Partridge,  and 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  15  Great  Dock  street,  Elbridge  Gerry,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Thames 
street,  Benjamin  Goodhue,  Jonathan  Grout,  and  George  Thatcher,  47  Broad  street;  Connecticut, 
Benjamin  Huntingdon  and  Roger  Sherman,  59  Water  street,  Jonathan  Sturges,  47  Broad  street, 
Jonathan  Trumbull  and  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  195  Water  street;  New  York,  Egbert  Benson, 
corner  of  King  and  Nassau  streets,  William  Floyd,  27  Queen  street,  John  Hathorn  and 
Jeremiah  Van  Rensselaer,  at  Mr.  Strong’s,  near  the  Albany  pier,  John  Lawrence,  14  Wall  street, 
Peter  Sylvester,  45  Maiden  Lane;  New  Jersey,  Elias  Boudinot,  12  Wall  street,  Lambert  Cad- 
wallader,  15  Wall  street,  James  Schureman  and  Thomas  Sinnickson,  47  Little  Dock  street; 
Pennsylvania,  George  Clymer  and  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  at  Mr.  Anderson’s,  Pearl  street,  Thomas 
Hartley  and  Daniel  Heister,  19  Maiden  Lane,  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  Speaker,  and  General  Peter 
Muhlenberg,  Rev.  Dr.  Kunzie’s,  24  Chatham  Row,  Thomas  Scott,  at  Mr.  Huck’s,  corner  of  Smith 
and  Wall  streets,  Henry  Wynkoop,  at  Mr.  Vandolsom’s,  near  Bear  Market;  Delaware,  John 
Vining,  19  Wall  street;  Maryland,  Daniel  Carroll,  William  Smith,  and  George  Gale,  52  Smith 
street,  Benjamin  Contee,  15  Wall  street,  Joshua  Seney  and  Michael  Jenifer  Stone,  15  Wall  sti'eet, 
Virginia,  Theodoric  Bland,  Josiah  Parker,  and  Isaac  Coles,  57  Maiden  Lane,  John  Brown, 
Alexander  White,  John  Page,  and  James  Madison,  Jun.,  19  Maiden  Lane,  Samuel  Griffin,  at  the 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


167 


and  Broad  streets,  though,  the  houses  of  several  of  the  more  respec- 
table families  were  iu  the  vicinity.  It  was  large,  and  its  rooms  gene- 
rally of  such  ample  dimensions  as  were  necessary  in  the  home  of  a 
public  character  apt  to  be  surrounded  by  numerous  visitors.  Be- 
fore the  arrival  of  Washington  Mr.  Osgood  was  requested,  by  a 
resolution  of  Congress,  to  “ put  the  house  and  the  furniture  thereof 
in  proper  condition  for  the  residence  and  use  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,”  and  a part  of  the  preparation  thus  authorized 
was  the  removal  of  the  partition  between  two  of  the  large  apart- 
ments, to  make  a drawing-room  sufficiently  capacious  for  the  Presi- 
dent’s receptions  and  public  audiences.  The  furniture  was  ex- 
tremely plain,  but  “ in  keeping  and  well  disposed,  and  the  whole 
arrangements,”  according  to  a correspondent  of  Mr.  Hancock,  were 
such  as  to  “give  promise  of  substantial  comfort.”  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton had  sent  on  by  sea  from  Mount  Vernon  many  articles  of  taste 
and  luxury,  including  a few  pictures,  vases,  and  other  ornaments, 
which  had  been  presented  to  the  General  by  his  European  friends. 
The  family  plate  was  melted  soon  after  it  was  brought  to  the  city, 
and  reproduced  in  more  elegant  and  harmonious  forms.  At  the 
house  of  Mr.  Custis  I was  shown  recently  the  silver  tea  service  as 
it  was  used  at  Mrs.  Washington’s  private  parties.  Each  piece  dis- 
plays the  arms  of  the  Washington  family.  The  salver  is  massive, 

White  Conduit  House,  near  the  Hospital,  Richard  Bland  Lee  and  Andrew  Moore,  15  Wall 
street ; South  Carolina,  Edanus  Burke,  Daniel  Huger  and  Thomas  Tudor  Tucker,  at  Mr.  Huek’s, 
Wall  street,  William  Smith,  Broadway,  next  to  the  Spanish  minister’s,  Thomas  Sumter,  40 
Wall  street;  Georgia,  Abraham  Baldwin,  193  Water  street,  James  Jackson  and  George  Mat- 
thews, 63  Broadway,  John  Beckley,  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  19  Maiden  Lane, 
Joseph  Wheaton,  Sergeant  at  Arms,  16  George  street,  Gilford  Dally,  door-keeper,  back  of  the 
Trinity  Church,  North  River.  [It  was  the  intention  of  the  editors  to  have  here  inserted  the 
names  of  all  the  public  officers  appointed  under  the  new  Constitution,  but  the  different  depart- 
ments not  being  yet  established,  it  is  not  in  their  power  to  insert  them  this  year.]  ” 

In  the  following  year  the  President,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Attor- 
ney General,  and  the  Chief  Justice,  occupied  houses  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  a house  on  the  corner  of  Wall  and  Broad  streets,  and  the  Postmaster  General 
his  house  in  Cherry  street. 


168 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


twenty-two  and  a half  inches  long  and  seventeen  and  a half  wide, 
of  an  oval  shape,  without  any  ornament  except  a small  "beading  on 
the  edge  of  the  rim.  The  state  coach  was  the  finest  carriage  in 
the  city.  It  was  usually  drawn  "by  four  horses,  hut  when  it  con- 
veyed the  President  to  Federal  Hall,  always  by  six.  The  body  was 
of  the  shape  of  a hemisphere,  and  it  was  cream-colored,  and  orna- 
mented with  cupids,  supporting  festoons,  and  with  borderings  of 
flowers  around  the  panels. 

The  President  afterwards  removed  to  the  commodious  house 
owned  by  Mr.  McComb,  since  known  as  Bunker’s  Hotel,  in  Broad- 
way, near  the  Bowling  Green.  The  situation  was  more  pleasant 
and  the  house  was  larger  and  more  convenient  than  that  in  Cherry 
street.  His  office  for  the  transaction  of  business  was  here  on  the 
first  floor,  on  the  right  hand  of  the  hall,  as  it  was  entered  from 
the  street,  and  the  drawing-rooms  were  on  the  left.  The  rent  of 
the  house  in  Broadway  was  regarded  as  extremely  high ; it  was 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a year. 

The  Vice  President  occupied  Mrs.  Jephson’s  beautiful  rural  re- 
sidence at  Richmond  Hill.  It  was  the  most  delightful  place  on  the 
island,  and  suited  better  than  any  other  those  ideas  of  official  dis- 
tinction which  Mr.  Adams  was  said  to  have  acquired  abroad.  Early 
in  the  revolution  it  was  General  Washington’s  head-quarters,  and 
he  evinced  a profound  emotion  when  revisiting  its  chambers  and 
the  venerable  oaks  about  it,  soon  after  it  came  into  the  Vice  Pre- 
sident’s possession.  Mrs.  Adams  describes  it  in  a letter  to  her  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Shaw,  as  “ a situation  where  the  hand  of  nature  has  so 
lavishly  displayed  her  beauties,  that  she  has  left  scarcely  any  thing 
for  her  handmaid,  art,  to  perform.”  “ The  house  in  which  we  re- 
side,” she  says,  u is  situated  upon  a hill,  the  avenue  to  which  is 
interspersed  with  forest  trees,  under  which  a shrubbery,  rather  too 
luxuriant  and  wild,  has  taken  shelter,  owing  to  its  having  been  de- 


LIBRARY 
OF  INF 

UNIVERSIU  Of  ILL^OIS 


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169 


prived  by  death,  some  years  since,  of  its  original  proprietor,  who 
kept  it  in  perfect  order.  In  front  of  the  bouse  tbe  noble  Hudson 
rolls  bis  majestic  waves,  bearing  upon  bis  bosom  innumerable  small 
vessels,  wbicb  are  constantly  forwarding  tbe  ricb  products  of  tbe 
neighboring  soil  to  tbe  busy  band  of  a more  extensive  commerce. 
Beyond  tbe  Hudson  rises  to  our  view  tbe  fertile  country  of  tbe 
Jerseys,  covered  with  a golden  harvest,  and  pouring  forth  plenty 
like  tbe  cornucopia  of  Ceres.  On  tbe  right  band,  an  extensive 
plain  presents  us  with  a view  of  fields  covered  with  verdure,  and 
pastures  full  of  cattle.  On  tbe  left,  tbe  city  opens  upon  us,  inter- 
cepted only  by  clumps  of  trees,  and  some  rising  ground,  wbicb 
serves  to  heighten  tbe  beauty  of  tbe  scene,  by  appearing  to  conceal 
a part.  In  tbe  background,  is  a large  flower-garden,  inclosed  with 
a hedge  and  some  very  handsome  trees.  On  one  side  of  it,  a grove 
of  pines  and  oaks  fit  for  contemplation. 

“ ‘ In  this  path 

How  long  soe’er  the  wanderer  roves,  each  step 
Shall  wake  fresh  beauties ; each  last  point  present 
A different  picture,  new,  and  yet  the  same.5  ” 

In  a letter  to  Thomas  Brand-Hollis,  she  adds,  “ A lovely  variety 
of  birds  serenade  me  morning  and  evening,  rejoicing  in  their  liberty 
and  security ; for  I have,  as  much  as  possible,  prohibited  tbe  grounds 
from  invasion,  and  sometimes  almost  wished  for  game  laws,  when 
my  orders  have  not  been  sufficiently  regarded.  Tbe  partridge,  tbe 
woodcock,  and  tbe  pigeon,  are  too  great  temptations  to  tbe  sports- 
men to  withstand.” 

Mrs.  Adams  was  one  of  tbe  remarkable  characters  of  her  age. 
She  was  not  without  tenderness  and  womanly  grace,  but  her  dis- 
tinction was  a masculine  understanding,  energy,  and  decision,  fitting 
her  for  tbe  bravest  or  most  debcate  parts  in  affairs,  and  in  an  emi- 
nent degree  for  that  domestic  relation  wbicb  continued  harmonious 
22 


170 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


through  so  many  changeful  years,  herself  unchanged  always,  and 
making  her  own  life  a portion  of  her  husband’s  in  a manner  that 
illustrates  the  noblest  ideas  we  have  of  marriage.  In  the  long  pe- 
riods of  necessary  separation,  during  the  war  and  the  diplomatic 
career  of  Mr.  Adams  in  Europe,  she  managed  his  moderate  estate 
with  a discretion  which  saved  him  from  the  mortification  of  such 
poverty  in  his  last  days  as  embittered  the  closing  years  of  some  of 
his  illustrous  contemporaries.  At  the  age  of  forty,  the  definitive 
treaty  of  peace  having  been  signed,  and  public  duties  still  detain- 
ing her  husband  abroad,  she  left  her  modest  and  now  quiet  home 
in  Braintree  to  mingle  in  the  shows  of  a magnificent  court,  where 
intercourse  was  governed  by  set  forms  and  the  stateliest  courtesy, 
and  it  became  her  duty  to  sustain  not  only  the  dignified  position 
of  the  minister,  but  the  social  fame  of  her  country.  The  daughter 
of  the  village  clergyman  and  the  wife  of  the  village  lawyer  — for 
it  was  in  such  capacities  only  that  she  had  yet  seen  the  world — 
thus  suddenly  translated  into  scenes  so  new,  and  so  different  a life, 
found  in  her  native  abilities  and  habitual  elevation  of  feeling  and 
demeanor,  ample  compensation  for  all  that  aristocratical  cultivation 
which  was  illustrated  in  every  thing  about  her,  and  commanded  a 
higher  consideration  for  herself  than  for  the  rank  she  shared  with 
her  husband.  She  remained  in  Paris  and  London  four  years,  and 
had  but  recently  returned,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  the  letters 
of  her  daughter,  when  summoned  to  New  York  by  the  election  of 
Mr.  Adams  to  the  office  of  Vice  President.  She  was  now  forty-five, 
and  still  in  the  most  perfect  maturity  of  her  presence  and  intelli- 
gence. In  coming  to  New  York  she  had  the  happiness  of  being 
reunited  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Smith.  The  family  appear  to 
have  been  all  much  attached  to  each  other,  all  proud  of  each  other, 
and  the  circumstances  of  their  only  daughter  were  continually  a 
subject  of  the  tenderest  solicitude  on  the  part  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ad- 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


171 


ams,  and  not  less  so  with  their  sons,  especially  with  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  made  of  his  sister  his  most  confidential  friend  and 
correspondent.* 

Mrs.  Knox  had  been  one  of  the  heroines  of  the  revolution,  nearly 
as  well  known  in  the  camp  as  her  husband,  whom  she  had  married 
against  the  wishes  of  her  family,  who  anticipated  a more  Splendid 
alliance  than  that  love  planned  for  her  with  the  clever  and  dash- 
ing bookseller,  Captain  Henry  Knox,  of  the  Boston  Grenadiers, 
who  had  not  the  slightest  claim  to  an  aristocratic  lineage.  But 
Knox  justified  her  preference,  and  gave  her  a prouder  name  than 
was  ever  dreamed  of  by  Mr.  Secretary  Fluckner,  her  father.  As 

* When  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  had  reached  the  full  term  of  three  score  years  and  ten, 
his  affection  for  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Smith,  his  only  sister,  remained  fresh  and  unabated.  In  the 
winter  of  that  year,  while  he  was  a member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  a grand-daughter 
of  Mrs.  Smith  was  on  a visit  at  the  metropolis,  and  requested  of  him  some  lines  for  her  Scrap- 
book. He  immediately  complied ; and  from  the  autograph  of  the  lines  then  written  we  copy 
the  following  tender  reference  to  that  sister  who  had  so  long  before  departed: 

“Thy  mother,  bless  herl  is  my  niece; 

Her  mother  1 — no ! till  blood  shall  cease 
Within  these  veins  to  flow  — 

No  I never,  never  from  my  heart 
Her  cherished  image  shall  depart, 

In  pleasure,  or  in  woe  I 

1 Though  many  a year  has  past  away 
Since  she  resigned  her  mortal  clay 
To  slumber  in  the  tomb, 

Tet  Memory  brings  her  form  to  me 
In  vernal  blossom,  just  like  thee, 

Unconscious  of  her  doom  1 

* Her  days  were  short  and  checkered  o’er 
With  joy  and  sorrow’s  mingled  store, 

And  fortune’s  treacherous  game  — 

But  never  since  creation’s  hour, 

Sent  forth  from  Heaven’s  almighty  power, 

A purer  spirit  came ! 

“Cousin,  forgive  this  falling  tear: 

She  was  my  sister — and  how  dear, 

No  language  can  express ; 

And  when  upon  thy  blooming  face, 

Her  lovely  lineaments  I trace, 

I see  thee,  and  I bless ! 

‘ Yes ! may  the  God  of  truth  and  love 
His  choicest  blessings  from  above 
Profuse  around  thee  shed  — 

And  near  the  throne  of  Grace  Divine, 

My  Bister’s  voice  unite  with  mine, 

To  shower  them  on  thy  head ! ” 


172 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


lias  been  mentioned  in  a previous  chapter,  Mrs.  Knox  was  “ enor- 
mously large ; ” she  and  her  husband  were  perhaps  the  largest  couple 
in  the  city ; and  both  were  favorites,  he  for  really  brilliant  conver- 
sation and  unfailing  good  humor,  and  she  as  a lively  and  meddlesome 
but  amiable  leader  of  society,  without  whose  cooperation  it  was 
believed,  by  many  besides  herself,  that  nothing  could  be  properly 
done,  in  the  drawing-room  or  the  ball-room,  or  any  place  indeed 
where  fashionable  men  and  women  sought  enjoyment.  The  house 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  was  in  Broadway,  and  it  was  the  scene  of 
a liberal  and  genial  hospitality. 

Mrs.  Izard,  of  South  Carolina,  had  been  famous  for  her  beauty 
and  spirit,  but  was  now  passed  her  prime,  though  not  older  than 
Mrs.  Adams.  She  was  the  grand-daughter  of  Etienne  de  Lanci,  a 
Huguenot  nobleman  who  came  to  this  country  in  1686.  In  1767 
she  married  Ralph  Izard,  of  Charleston,  a man  of  accomplishments 
and  liberal  fortune,  who  had  been  educated  at  the  University  of 
Cambridge,  and  after  returning  to  America  had  passed  his  winters 
in  South  Carolina  and  his  summers  in  New  York.  Four  years  after 
his  marriage  he  went  to  London,  where  he  lived  several  winters, 
in  a brilliant  society.  Displeased  with  the  conduct  of  the  minis- 
try toward  the  colonies,  he  visited  the  Continent,  but  becoming 
wearied  of  travel,  went  back  to  London,  where  he  exerted  his  in- 
fluence to  avert  the  approaching  war,  without  success,  and  in  1777 
removed  his  family  to  Paris,  and  in  a few  months  to  Florence,  be- 
ing  appointed  Commissioner  from  Congress  to  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany.  His  subsequent  diplomatic  services,  and  his  personal  re- 
lations with  Franklin,  Deane,  and  others,  cannot  here  be  stated.  He 
was  always  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  was  very  handsome, 
witty,  and  fond  of  adventure.  In  London  her  portrait  was  painted 
by  Gainsborough,  and  I was  shown  in  Charleston,  by  her  grandson, 
Mr.  Manigault,  one  of  Copley’s  finest  pictures,  a very  large  “ family 


NEW  YORK  .METROPOLITAN. 


173 


piece"’  representing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Izard  in  a Roman  palace,  witli  a win- 
dow in  the  background  looking  out  on  one  of  the  most  interesting 
parts  of  the  Eternal  City.  Mr.  Izard  returned  to  Charleston  in  1780, 
and  his  wife  and  children  three  years  afterward.  On  the  forma- 
tion of  the  new  government  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  senators  of 
South  Carolina. 

Of  the  men  in  the  city,  not  immediately  connected  with  the 
government,  the  greatest  beyond  all  comparison  was  Alexander 
Hamilton.  His  extraordinary  genius,  knowledge,  and  activity, 
would  have  made  him  illustrious  in  any  society,  but  his  character 
was  in  some  respects  beyond  the  grasp  of  common  minds,  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  he  was  justly  appreciated  at  this  time  by  a very 
large  number,  though  Washington  knew  him  well,  and  regarded 
him  with  the  sincerest  respect,  affection,  and  admiration.  It  is  true 
that  Hamilton  was  something  of  a roue,  but  his  gallantries  were 
subject  to  a certain  law  of  honorableness  which  even  in  such  affairs 
is  not  altogether  impossible  ; and  in  his  public  conduct  he  was  as 
inflexibly  just  as  he  was  unapproachably  able.  Doubtless  in  the 
formation  of  our  Constitution  the  profound  sense  of  Washington 
was  the  deciding  authority,  but  the  suggesting  intelligence  was 
Hamilton’s,  and  he  is  to  be  regarded  above  all  other  men  as  the 
creator  of  the  institutions  of  modern  liberty.  His  residence  was 
on  the  corner  of  Wall  and  Broad  streets,  nearly  opposite  Federal 
Hall,  and  with  a party  of  his  friends  he  had  witnessed  from  his 
balcony  the  inauguration  of  Washington.  He  had  built,  however, 
a beautiful  house  which  he  called  “ The  Grange,”  a few  miles  up  the 
island,  which  was  his  last  home  in  the  world. 

Aaron  Burr,  during  this  period,  was  at  Albany  much  of  the 
time,  busy  with  official  duties,  and  in  writing  love-letters  to  his  wife, 
and  instructions  for  the  education  of  Theodosia,  that  marvellous 
girl  whose  beauty,  wit,  and  melancholy  history  constitute  one  of 


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the  most  romantic  chapters  in  the  history  of  American  private 
life.  Burr  in  Albany  lived  with  a pretty  and  tidy  widow,  and 
rarely  dined  or  passed  an  evening  abroad.  Near  the  end  of  July 
he  finished  important  business  which  had  detained  him  in  the  courts, 
“ received  thanks,  and  twenty  half  joes,”  with  promises  of  more  of 
both  commodities,  and  returned  to  New  York.  He  had  been  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Prevost,  a charming  woman,  the  widow  of  a British 
officer,  in  July,  1782.  For  several  years  he  lived  in  the  house  at 
Richmond  Hill,  now  occupied  by  the  Vice  President.  His  interest 
made  it  necessary  to  reside  more  near  the  centre  of  business,  and 
he  removed  into  the  city.  Mrs.  Burr  did  not  go  into  society.  I 
do  not  find  her  name  in  the  lists  of  dinner  parties,  nor  is  she  often 
referred  to  in  contemporary  letters.  She  loved  “ My  lord,”  as  she 
playfully  addressed  her  husband,  and  was  always  perfectly  content 
in  his  presence,  or  inconsolable  by  the  presence  of  others  for  his  ab- 
sence. Although  his  whole  life  from  boyhood  had  been  steeped  in 
profligacy,*  and  his  amours  were  as  well  known  as  those  of  any 
hero  of  scandalous  history,  he  seems  really  to  have  loved  her  with 
much  of  the  tenderness  she  felt  for  him.  While  he  was  in  Albany 
he  wrote  to  her,  “ Multiply  your  letters  to  me  ; they  are  all  my 

* It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  here  to  the  extraordinary  vicissitudes  of  Burr’s  subsequent  life ; 
but  that  it  may  not  be  suspected  that  his  infirmities  are  too  strongly  stated,  the  following  remarks 
are  transcribed  from  his  memoirs,  written  by  his  most  partial  and  most  faithful  friend,  Mr.  Davis : 
“ It  is  truly  astonishing  how  any  individual  could  have  become  so  eminent  as  a soldier,  as  a 
statesman,  and  as  a professional  man,  who  devoted  so  much  time  to  the  other  sex  as  was  devoted 
by  Colonel  Burr.  For  more  than  half  a century  of  his  life  they  seemed  to  absorb  his  whole 
thoughts.  His  intrigues  were  without  number ; his  conduct  most  licentious ; the  sacred  bonds 
of  friendship  were  unhesitatingly  violated  when  they  operated  as  barriers  to  the  indulgence  of 
his  passions.  For  a long  time  he  seemed  to  be  gathering  and  carefully  preserving  every  line 
written  to  him  by  any  female,  whether  with  or  without  reputation,  and  when  obtained  they  were 
cast  into  one  common  receptacle  — the  profligate  and  corrupt  by  the  side  of  the  thoughtless  and 
betrayed  victim.  All  were  held  as  trophies  of  victory,  all  esteemed  alike  valuable.  How  shock- 
ing to  the  man  of  sensibility  1 how  mortifying  and  heart-sickening  to  the  intellectual,  the  artless, 
and  the  fallen  fair  1 Among  these  manuscripts  were  many  the  production  of  highly-cultivated 

minds They  were  testimonials  of  the  weakness  of  the  weaker  sex,  even  where  genius  and 

learning  would  seem  to  be  towering  above  his  arts.” 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


175 


solace ; the  last  six  are  constantly  within  my  reach ; I read  them 
once  a day  at  least.”  And  she,  years  after  their  marriage,  was  half 
distracted  every  time  his  duties  or  his  pleasures  called  him  away : 
“ I feel  as  if  my  guardian  angel  had  forsaken  me,”  she  writes  on 
one  occasion ; “ tell  me,  why  do  I grow  every  day  more  tenacious 
of  your  regard  ? can  my  affection  increase  ? is  it  because  each  hour 
proves  you  more  deserving  ? Heaven  preserve  the  husband  of  my 
heart ! and  teach  me  to  cherish  his  love,  and  deserve  it.”  In  1789 
Burr  was  thirty-three  years  old.  He  was  small  but  well  formed, 
with  a handsome  face,  by  some  described  as  striking,  and  eyes  jet 
black  and  uncommonly  brilliant  and  piercing.  In  public,  he  had 
an  air  of  eminent  authority,  though  in  the  drawing-room  his  man- 
ner was  singularly  graceful,  gentle,  and  fascinating. 

The  roll  of  attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  this  time  in  the 
city  of  New  York  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  names. 
Among  these  were  James  Duane,  admitted  in  August,  1754 ; Rich- 
ard Nichols  Harrison,  in  January,  1769 ; Burr,  in  January,  1782; 
Hamilton,  in  July,  1782  ; Jay,  in  October,  1758;  James  Kent,  in 
January,  1785  ; Morgan  Lewis,  in  October,  1782;  Robert  Troup, 
in  April,  1782  ; and  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Edward  Livingston, 
Egbert  Benson,  John  Watts,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Richard  Varick, 
Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman  and  James  Lansing,  the  dates  of  whose  ad- 
mission I do  not  discover.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the 
city  has  ever  since,  notwithstanding  its  prodigious  growth  in  every 
thing  else,  embraced  as  much  legal  learning,  eloquence,  or  dignity 
of  character,  as  in  that  year,  when  the  “New  York  Directory” 
was  contained  in  ninety-six  very  small  octodecimo  pages. 

Dr.  John  H.  Livingston  and  Dr.  William  Linn  were  ministers  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  Dr.  Linn  was  a fine  scholar  and 
a graceful  and  fervid  orator ; an  honorary  member  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, and  one  of  the  chaplains  to  Congress ; and  his  simple  and 


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agreeable  manners  and  pleasing  conversation,  enriched  with  unusual 
stores  of  information,  made  him  a favorite  in  the  best  society.  His 
son,  John  Blab’  Linn,  who  afterward  became  a celebrated  preacher, 
and  whose  “Valerian  ” and  “Powers  of  Genius”  display  considerable 
taste  and  skill  in  poetry,  was  at  this  period  a law  student  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  but  much  more  fond  of  the  theatre  than  the 
court-rooms.  Dr.  Rodgers  and  Dr.  John  Mason  occupied  the  two 
Presbyterian  churches.  The  greatest  of  American  pulpit  orators, 
John  M.  Mason,  had  recently  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  and 
was  now  studying  divinity  with  his  father.  The  learned  Dr.  Kun- 
zie*  ministered  in  the  German  Lutheran  Church.  The  “ easy,  good- 
tempered,  gentlemanly  and  scholarly  Dr.  Provoost,f  ” as  President 
Duer  describes  him,  w’as  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  one  of  the 
chaplains  of  Congress,  and  a welcome  guest  at  the  dinner  tables 
of  all  his  friends. 

* John  Christopher  Kunzie,  D.  D.,  was  now  about  forty-five  years  of  age.  He  had  been, 
before  his  removal  to  New  York,  fourteen  years  a preacher,  in  Philadelphia,  and  a professor  in 
the  college  in  that  city.  In  Columbia  College  he  filled  the  chair  of  oriental  languages.  A 
valuable  collection  of  coins  and  medals  which  he  owned  is  now  preserved  in  the  rooms  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society.  His  house  was  in  Chatham  Row,  and  during  the  sessions  of 
Congress  Mr.  Speaker  Muhlenberg  and  General  Muhlenberg  boarded  with  him. 

| Dr.  J.  W.  Francis,  in  the  only  memoir  we  have  of  Bishop  Provoost,  gives  us  a very  pleasing 
account  of  his  character.  “ His  philanthropy,”  says  this  learned  writer,  “ was  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive order,  and  his  beneficence  was  called  into  almost  daily  exercise.  His  private  charities 
were  often  beyond  what  his  actual  means  justified.  As  a patriot  he  was  exceeded  by  none,  and 
his  sensibility  to  the  honor  and  interests  of  his  country  were  of  the  liveliest  nature.  In  the  rela- 
tions of  husband  and  parent  he  exhibited  all  the  kindly  and  endearing  affections  which  ennoble 
our  species.  As  a scholar,  he  was  deeply  versed  in  classical  lore,  and  in  the  records  of  ecclesias- 
tical history  and  church  polity;  to  a very  exact  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew,  he  added  a profound 
acquaintance  with  the  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  Italian,  and  other  languages.  It  is  affirmed 
that  as  a literary  recreation  he  made  a new  poetical  version  of  Tasso.  In  a knowledge  of  the 
natural  and  physical  sciences  he  also  made  considerable  progress.  Of  these,  botany  was  his 
favorite.  He  had  attended,  while  at  Cambridge,  lectures  on  this  branch  of  natural  history,  and 
became  conversant  with  the  classification  of  plants,  from  Coesalpinus  to  Linnreus,  whose  system 
was  then  taught  by  the  Cambridge  professor.  So  great  was  his  delight  in  botanical  pursuits,  that 
he  formed  an  extensive  index  to  the  elaborate  Historia  Plantarum  of  John  Baushin,  whom  he 
calls  the  prince  of  botanists,  in  a blank  leaf  of  the  work,  the  manuscript  of  which  bears  date 
1766,  with  his  name  and  distinctions,  ‘Sam.  Provoost,  D.D.  St.  Petr.  Cantab,  et  Lugd,  Bativ.’  ” 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


177 


The  popular  physicians  were  Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  Dr.  John  Bard, 
Dr.  Wright  Post,  Dr.  Bailey,  Dr.  Kissam,  and  Dr.  Jones. 

VI. 

The  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  which  suc- 
ceeded the  organization  of  the  constitutional  government  was  cele- 
brated in  all  parts  of  the  Union  with  remarkable  enthusiasm.  In 
New  York  a committee  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  waited  up- 
on the  President,  in  the  morning,  and  its  chairman,  Baron  Steuben, 
addressed  him,  saying,  “ The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  the  State 
of  New  York  have  instructed  this  delegation  to  present  to  you, 
sir,  them  sentiments  of  the  profoundest  respect.  In  common  with 
all  good  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  they  join  their 
ardent  wishes  for  the  perservation  of  your  life,  health,  and  pros- 
perity. In  particular,  they  feel  the  highest  satisfaction  in  contem- 
plating the  illustrious  Chief  of  our  armies,  by  the  unanimous  vote 
of  an  independent  people,  elected  to  the  highest  station  that  a dig- 
nified and  enlightened  country  can  bestow.  Under  your  con- 
duct, sir,  this  band  of  soldiers  was  led  to  glory  and  to  conquest, 
and  we  feel  confident  that  under  your  administration  our  country 
will  speedily  arrive  at  an  enviable  state  of  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness.” The  Chief  answered,  “ I beg  you,  gentlemen,  to  return  my 
most  affectionate  regards  to  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  to  assure  them  that  I received  their  con- 
gratulations on  this  auspicious  day  with  a mind  constantly  anxious 
for  the  honor  and  welfare  of  our  country,  and  can  only  say  that 
the  force  of  my  abilities,  aided  by  an  integrity  of  heart,  shall  be 
studiously  pointed  to  the  support  of  its  dignity  and  the  promotion 
of  its  prosperity  and  happiness.” 

The  society  afterwards  marched  in  procession,  attended  by  Col- 
onel Bauman’s  artillery  and  a band  of  music,  to  St.  Paul’s  church, 
23 


178 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


where,  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of  Congress  and  a great 
concourse  of  distinguished  citizens  and  strangers,  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton delivered  an  oration  on  the  life  and  character  of  General  Na- 
thaniel Greene.  The  President  was  too  unwell  to  leave  his  house, 
but  Mrs.  Washington,  Mrs.  Adams,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  Mrs.  Jay,  and 
a great  number  of  other  women,  were  present,  and  made  the  assem- 
blage one  of  the  most  brilliant  ever  seen  in  New  York. 

The  military  of  the  city  paraded  in  the  fields,  and  were  review- 
ed by  several  eminent  officers.  As  they  passed  the  house  of  the 
President,  he  appeared  at  the  door,  in  the  uniform  he  had  worn  in 
the  revolution,  to  receive  them  salutations,  but  was  not  sufficiently 
recovered  to  address  them. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  dined  at  the  old  City  Tavern  in 
Broad  street,  and  the  officers  of  the  city  troops  at  Fr amices’ s Hotel 
in  Cortlandt  street ; and  both  parties  paid  to  the  name  of  Washing- 
ton all  possible  honors. 

VII. 

The  health  of  the  President  was  far  from  good  when  he  arriv- 
ed in  New  York,  and  the  extraordinary  labors  which  he  astonished 
those  about  him  by  performing  so  readily,  so  patiently,  and  so  ad- 
mirably, in  the  few  weeks  following  his  inauguration,  brought  on 
at  length  a malady  so  serious  that  for  several  days  his  life  was  re- 
garded as  in  imminent  danger.  His  disease  was  anthrax,  so  malig- 
nent  as  to  threaten  mortification.  He  was  attended,  night  and  day, 
by  Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  a physician  of  the  highest  personal  as  well  as 
professional  respectability,  whose  skilful  treatment,  and  a naturally 
strong  constitution,  enabled  him  to  survive  an  illness  the  most  pain- 
ful and  trying  he  had  ever  endured,  but  he  never  entirely  recover- 
ed from  its  effects.  Dr.  Bard  relates  that  on  one  occasion,  being 
left  alone  with  him,  Washington  looked  steadily  in  his  face  and 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


179 


asked  his  candid  opinion  as  to  the  probable  termination  of  the  dis- 
ease ; adding,  with  that  placid  firmness  which  marked  his  address, 
“ Do  not  flatter  me  with  vain  expectations : I am  not  afraid  to  die, 
and,  therefore,  can  bear  the  worst.”  The  doctor  expressed  hopes  of 
his  recovery,  but  acknowledged  his  fears.  The  patient  then  said, 
“ Whether  to-night,  or  twenty  years  hence,  makes  no  difference : I 
know  that  I am  in  the  hands  of  a good  Providence.”  By  the  bless- 
ing of  that  good  Providence  his  life  was  spared  to  a country,  which 
never  stood  in  greater  need  of  his  amazing  wisdom  and  unparalleled 
and  as  yet  unresisted  influence.  Dr.  Bard  from  this  period  was  one 
of  his  intimate  friends. 

On  Tuesday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  he  was  well  enough  to 
receive  visits  of  compliment,  but  the  papers  intimated  that  until 
his  health  should  be  more  perfectly  restored  he  would  see  his  friends 
but  once  a week.  He  had  hardly  gained  strength  to  go  abroad, 
when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  his  mother,  at  Fredericksburg,  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  after  a long  and  very  painful  illness. 
She  was  eighty-two  years  of  age,  and  had  been  forty-six  years  a 
widow.  “ Though  a pious  tear  of  affection  and  esteem  is  due  to 
the  memory  of  so  revered  a character,”  says  a writer  from  Fred- 
ericksburg, two  days  after  her  decease,  “yet  our  grief  must  be 
greatly  lessened,  from  the  consideration  that  she  is  relieved  from 
the  pitiable  infirmities  attendant  on  an  extreme  old  age.  It  is  usual, 
when  virtuous  and  conspicuous  persons  quit  this  terrestrial  abode, 
to  publish  elaborate  panegyrics  on  their  characters,  but  suffice  it  to 
say  that  she  conducted  herself  through  this  transitory  life  with  vir- 
tue and  prudence  worthy  the  mother  of  the  greatest  hero  that  ever 
adorned  the  annals  of  history.”  Washington  himself  wrote  on  the 
occasion  to  his  only  sister,  Mrs.  Lewis : “ Awful  and  affecting  as  the 
death  of  a parent  is,  there  is  consolation  in  knowing  that  Heaven 
has  spared  ours  to  an  age  beyond  which  few  attain,  and  favored  her 


180 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


with  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  mental  faculties,  and  as  much  bodily 
strength  as  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  fourscore.  Under  these  con- 
siderations, and  a hope  that  she  is  translated  to  a happier  place,  it 
is  the  duty  of  her  relatives  to  yield  due  submission  to  the  decrees 
of  the  Creator.” 

At  the  first  public  levee  after  the  death  of  the  President’s  mo- 
ther was  known  in  the  city,  several  members  of  the  two  houses  of 
Congress,  and  other  respectable  persons,  wore  the  customary  signs 
of  mourning,  and  the  event  was  alluded  to  with  feeling  and  deli- 
cacy in  the  principal  pulpits  on  the  following  sabbath. 

VIII. 

All  the  details  of  administration  had  been  left  by  the  Consti- 
tution for  the  decision  of  Congress,  and  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  at  length  agreed  upon  the  creations  of  departments 
and  the  limitations  of  their  functions,  and  passed  such  other  laws 
as  were  necessary  for  the  organization  of  affairs. 

The  formation  of  his  cabinet  was  a matter  of  the  deepest  per- 
sonal interest  to  the  President.  The  secretaries  were  to  be  his 
counsellors  as  well  as  the  executors  under  his  authority  of  the  prin- 
cipal business  of  the  nation ; and  on  their  selection,  therefore,  would 
depend  in  a large  degree  the  success  of  his  government.  For  the 
Department  of  State  he  chose  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  had  already  soli- 
cited and  obtained  permission  to  return  from  France,  where  he  had 
filled  the  office  of  minister  plenipotentiary,  as  the  successor  of  Frank- 
lin, with  unquestionable  ability,  during  all  the  period  of  the  forma- 
tion and  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  Alexander  Hamilton  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  most  laborious  and  difficult  place,  the  Secretaryship 
of  the  Treasury ; his  extraordinary  capacities  were  equal  to  any 
position,  and  he  had  shown  himself  to  be  particularly  qualified  for  the 
management  of  the  finances.  General  Knox  was  continued  in  the 


NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN. 


181 


war  office,  which  he  had  occupied  for  several  years,  under  the  con- 
federation. Edmund  Randolph,  who  had  been  governor  of  Virgi- 
nia, and  a very  successful  lawyer,  was  made  Attorney  General,  and 
Samuel  Osgood,  of  New  York,  Post  Master  General. 

The  President’s  opinion  of  Mr.  Jay,  induced  him  to  ask  his  ac- 
ceptance of  any  place  he  might  prefer,  and  he  was  gratified  when 
that  illustrious  character  consented  to  become  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States.  In  communicating  to  him  his  appointment  he  said, 
“ I have  a full  confidence  that  the  love  which  you  bear  to  our  coun- 
try, and  a desire  to  promote  the  general  happiness,  will  not  suffer 
you  to  hesitate  a moment  to  bring  into  action  the  talents,  know- 
ledge, and  integrity,  which  are  so  necessary  to  be  exercised  at  the 
head  of  that  department  which  must  be  considered  the  keystone 
of  our  political  fabric.”  For  Mr.  Jay’s  colleagues  on  the  bench  the 
President  selected  William  Cushing,  at  this  time  Chief  Justice  of 
Massachusetts ; James  Wilson,  who  had  been  conspicuous  in  the 
affairs  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  Convention  had  been  chairman 
of  the  committee  which  reported  the  Constitution ; Robert  H.  Har- 
rison, Chief  Justice  of  Maryland,  who  had  been  formerly  one  of 
the  confidential  secretaries  of  the  commander-in-chief ; John  Blair, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Virginia  Court  of  Appeals;  and  John 
Rutledge,  the  eloquent  and  brave  spirited  statesman  of  South  Caro- 
lina. Judge  Harrison  declined,  and  his  place  was  conferred  upon 
James  Iredell,  of  North  Carolina. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  September  the  first  session  of  the  first 
Congress  was  brought  to  a close.  Before  their  adjournment  the 
two  houses  appointed  a joint  committee  to  wait  on  the  President 
and  “ request  that  he  would  recommend  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  a day  of  public  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  to  be  observed  by 
acknowledging,  with  grateful  hearts,  the  many  and  signal  favors 
of  Almighty  God,  especially  by  affording  them  an  opportunity 


182 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


peacefully  to  establish  a constitution  of  government  for  their  safety 
and  happiness.”  The  creators  of  the  Constitution  do  not  seem  ever 
to  have  dreamed  of  the  wretched  demagoguism  which  has  discov- 
ered that  it  is  unconstitutional  for  the  government  to  recognize  the 
existence  and  kindness  of  the  Deity.  On  the  third  day  of  October, 
therefore,  Washington  acceded  to  this  request,  and  recommended 
that  the  twenty-sixth  of  November  “ be  devoted  by  the  people  of 
these  states  to  the  service  of  that  great  and  glorious  Being  who  is 
the  beneficent  Author  of  all  the  good  that  was,  that  is,  or  that  will 
be ; that  we  may  then  all  unite  in  rendering  unto  Him  our  sincere 
and  humble  thanks  for  his  kind  care  and  protection  of  the  people 
of  this  country  previous  to  their  becoming  a nation ; for  the  sig- 
nal and  manifold  mercies  and  the  favorable  interpositions  of  his 
providence,  in  the  course  and  conclusion  of  the  late  war  ; for  the 
great  degree  of  tranquillity,  union,  and  plenty,  which  we  have  since 
enjoyed ; for  the  peaceable  and  rational  manner  in  which  we  have 
been  enabled  to  establish  constitutions  of  government  for  our  safety 
and  happiness,  and  particularly  the  national  one  now  recently  insti- 
tuted ; for  the  civil  and  religious  liberty  with  which  we  are  blessed, 
and  the  means  we  have  of  acquiring  and  diffusing  useful  knowledge; 
and,  in  general,  for  all  the  great  and  various  favors  which  he  has 
been  pleased  to  confer  upon  us.” 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


i. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress  Washington  made  ar- 
rangements for  a journey  through  New  England.  He  anticipated 
perhaps  some  pleasure  from  revisiting  the  earlier  scenes  of  his  com- 
mand during  the  revolution,*  but  he  was  most  anxious  for  the  resto- 
ration of  his  health,  and  to  observe  the  condition  and  disposition 
of  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  Union. 

He  set  out  from  New  York  on  Thursday  morning,  the  fifteenth 
of  October,  in  his  own  chariot,  drawn  by  four  Virginia  bays,  and 
accompanied  by  two  of  his  secretaries,  Tobias  Lear  and  Major 
Jackson,  on  horseback.  The  Chief  Justice,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  escorted  him  as  far  as  Rye, 
where  Mr.  Jay  had  his  country  residence. 

As  he  approached  New  Haven,  in  the  forenoon  of  Saturday,  he 
was  met  by  a deputation  of  members  of  the  legislature  of  Con- 
necticut, escorted  by  the  guards  of  the  Governor,  who  conducted 
him,  amid  crowds  of  people,  to  his  lodgings.  Governor  Hunting- 
ton,  soon  after,  presented  to  him  a congratulatory  address,  and  the 

* As  early  as  1785  Washington  had  written  to  Mr.  James  Warren  of  Massachusetts:  “It 
would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  go  oyer  those  grounds  in  your  state,  with  a mind  more  at  ease 
than  when  I travelled  them  in  1775  and  1776,  and  to  unite  in  congratulation  on  the  happy 
change,  with  those  characters  who  participated  the  anxious  moments  we  passed  in  those  days, 
and  for  whom  I entertain  a sincere  regard.” 


184 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Congregational  ministers  of  tlie  city  — Ezra  Stiles,  James  Dana, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Samuel  Wales,  and  Samuel  Austin  — all  men 
of  eminent  reputations,  also  addressed  him,  saying,  in  reference  to 
his  recent  illness,  “We  most  sincerely  rejoice  in  the  kind  and  gra- 
cious providence  of  God,  who  has  been  pleased  to  preserve  your 
life  during  your  late  dangerous  sickness,  and  to  restore  you  to  such 
a degree  of  health  as  gives  us  this  opportunity  to  express  our  joy, 
and  affords  us  the  most  pleasing  hopes  that  your  strength  may  be 
firmly  reestablished.”  To  the  governor  and  to  the  clergy  he  made 
appropriate  replies,  and  to  the  latter  observed : “ The  tender  interest 
you  have  taken  in  my  personal  happiness,  and  the  obliging  manner 
in  which  you  express  yourselves  on  the  restoration  of  my  health,  are 
so  forcibly  impressed  on  my  mind  as  to  render  language  inadequate 
to  the  utterance  of  my  feelings.  If  it  shall  please  the  Great  Dis- 
poser of  events  to  listen  to  the  pious  supplication  which  you  have 
presented  in  my  behalf,  I trust  the  remainder  of  my  days  will 
evince  the  gratitude  of  a heart  devoted  to  the  advancement  of 
those  objects  which  receive  the  approbation  of  Heaven,  and  pro- 
mote the  happiness  of  our  fellow  men.  My  prayers  are  offered  at 
the  throne  of  Grace  for  your  happiness  and  that  of  the  congrega- 
tions committed  to  your  care.”  The  next  day  he  attended  divine 
service  at  Trinity  Church  in  the  morning,  and  at  the  Congregational 
church  of  Dr.  Edwards  in  the  afternoon.  The  Governor,  the 
Lieutenant  Governor,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
the  Treasurer,  and  Roger  Sherman,  dined  with  him. 

Accompanied  by  a troop  of  cavalry,  and  a large  number  of 
citizens  on  horseback,  he  left  New  Haven  on  Monday  morning,  and 
the  same  evening  arrived  at  Hartford,  where  he  was  received  in  an 
appropriate  manner  by  the  public  authorities  and  by  the  people. 
On  Tuesday  he  visited  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  that 
city,  and  on  Wednesday  proceeded  on  his  journey. 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


185 


Information  having  reached  Worcester,  on  Thursday  evening, 
that  the  President  would  be  in  that  village  early  the  next  morn- 
ing, about  forty  citizens  assembled  on  horseback  before  sunrise,  on 
Friday,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Leicester  line  to  welcome  him  and 
escort  him  into  town.  On  notice  being  given  of  his  approach,  five 
cannon  were  fired  for  the  New  England  states  — three  for  those 
which  had  accepted  the  Constitution,  one  for  Vermont,  which  was 
expected  immediately  to  come  into  the  Union,  and  “ one  as  a call 
for  Rhode  Island  to  be  ready  before  it  should  be  too  late.”  When 
he  came  in  sight  of  the  meeting-house  eleven  cannon  were  fired. 
He  viewed  with  attention  the  artillery,  as  he  passed,  and  expressed 
to  the  people  his  sense  of  the  honor  conferred  upon  him.  He 
stopped  at  “ The  United  States  Arms  ” to  breakfast,  and,  to  gratify 
the  inhabitants,  proceeded  through  the  rest  of  the  town  on  horse- 
back. The  Worcester  Spy,  in  giving  an  account  of  these  circum- 
stances, refers  to  the  President  as  “ His  Highness.”  The  discussion 
of  the  subject  of  titles  was  not  yet  ended ; Representatives  were 
called  “ Honorable,”  Senators  and  members  of  the  Cabinet,  “ Most 
Honorable,”  and  in  many  of  the  journals  it  was  insisted  that  the 
President  should  be  addressed  by  some  distinctive  and  peculiar 
designation.  It  was  alleged  in  illustration  of  the  necessity  of  such 
a style  as  might  distinguish  him  from  other  eminent  persons,  at 
least  when  travelling,  that,  as  he  approached  one  of  the  villages 
between  New  Haven  and  Worcester,  a messenger  was  sent  forward 
to  inform  the  keeper  of  the  inn  where  he  intended  to  pass  the 
night,  that  “ the  President  was  near  by,  and  wished  to  be  accommo- 
dated with  a little  necessary  refreshment,  and  lodging.”  The  host 
was  absent,  but  his  wife,  supposing  it  was  Doctor  Manning,  Presi- 
dent of  Rhode  Island  College,  who  was  an  occasional  visitor,  gen- 
erally having  with  him  Mrs.  Manning,  whom  she  did  not  feel  quite 
well  enough  to  entertain,  sent  word  that  “ the  President  must  gc 
24 


186 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


on  to  the  next  tavern.”  The  landlady  soon,  but  too  late,  found  out 
her  error,  and  grievously  lamented  that  she  had  not  known  it  was 
the  illustrious  Washington  who  intended  to  honor  her  house. 
“ Bless  me ! ” she  exclaimed,  “ the  sight  of  him  would  have  cured 
me  of  my  illness,  and  the  best  in  the  house  and  in  the  town  should 
have  been  at  his  service.” 

A cavalcade  from  Worcester  attended  the  President  to  the  line 
of  Marlborough,  where  he  was  met  by  a handsomely  uniformed 
company  of  horse,  who  escorted  him  to  Williams’s  Tavern,  where 
he  dined,  and  thence  to  Captain  Flagg’s,  in  Weston,  where  he 
lodged  and  breakfasted.  At  the  latter  place  he  was  met  by  a courier 
from  Governor  Hancock,  inviting  him  with  his  suite  to  dine  with 
his  Excellency  the  next  day,  and  expressing  regret  that  the  Presi- 
dent had  declined  a previous  request  to  become  his  guest  while 

he  should  remain  in  Boston.  Washington  had  written  to  him,  from 

■» 

Brookfield,  that  from  a wish  to  avoid  giving  trouble  in  private 
families  he  had  determined  on  leaving  New  York  to  decline  all  such 
invitations,  and,  that  this  rule  might  be  observed,  had  caused  lodg- 
ings in  Boston  to  be  secured  for  him. 

On  Saturday  morning  he  was  met,  soon  after  he  started,  by  a 
troop  of  horse  from  Cambridge,  and  as  he  passed  through  Water- 
town  he  was  saluted  by  the  artillery  of  that  village.  At  Cambridge 
he  had  occupied  as  his  head-quarters,  in  1'7 7 5,  a noble  mansion* 

* Now  the  residence  of  Mr.  Longfellow,  who,  in  a beautiful  poem  “ To  a Child,”  recalls  its  history : 

“Once,  ah,  once,  within  these  walls, 

One  whom  memory  oft  recalls, 

The  Father  of  his  Country  dwelt ; 

And  yonder  meadow,  broad  and  damp, 

The  fires  of  the  besieging  camp 
Encircled  with  a burning  belt ; 

Up  and  down  these  echoing  stairs, 

Ileavy  with  the  weight  of  cares, 

Sounded  his  majestic  tread ; 

Yes,  within  this  very  room 
Sat  he  in  those  hours  of  gloom, 

Weary  both  in  heart  and  head.” 

Washington’s  revisiting  the  house,  under  these  circumstances,  is  a fine  subject  for  the  meditative 
end  graceful  muse  of  its  present  owner. 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


187 


about  half  a mile  from  the  college,  and  he  now  stopped  an  hour 
to  revisit  its  rooms  and  walk  about  its  grounds. 

From  his  old  head-quarters  the  Chief  proceeded  on  horseback, 
leaving  his  chariot  in  the  rear,  and  as  he  entered  the  village  green 
he  was  saluted  with  a discharge  of  artillery,  under  the  direction  of 
General  Brooks,  who  met  him  there  at  the  head  of  about  one  thou- 
sand uniformed  militia. 


II. 

A disagreement  had  arisen  between  the  governor  and  a com- 
mittee of  the  selectmen,  as  to  which  party  had  the  right  to  receive 
the  President  at  the  boundary  of  the  city.  The  committee  con- 
tended that  as  he  was  about  to  visit  the  town,  it  was  the  especial 
office  of  the  municipal  authorities  to  bid  him  welcome,  though  it 
would  have  been  perfectly  proper  for  the  governor  to  have  met 
him  on  the  frontier  of  the  state.  From  this  cause  there  was  con- 
siderable delay,  during  which  the  President,  who  had  already  ad- 
vanced through  Roxbury,  was  exposed  to  a cold  and  damp  wind, 
extremely  disagreeable  and  alarming  to  a valetudinarian.  He  in- 
quired the  reason  of  the  difficulty,  and  when  it  was  explained  did 
not  conceal  his  impatience.  Of  one  of  his  secretaries,  Major  Jack- 
son,  he  asked  whether  there  was  not  some  other  way  into  the  city, 
and  was  in  the  act  of  turning  his  horse  when  informed  that  the  con- 
troversy was  over,  and  that  he  would  be  received  by  the  delegates 
of  the  corporation. 

The  people  had  assembled  on  the  mall,  at  ten  o’clock,  where  an 
immense  procession  had  been  formed,  which,  preceded  by  the  band 
of  the  French  squadron,  then  in  the  harbor,  marched  to  the  city 
line,  where  the  governor  had  previously  ordered  a parade  of  the 
military.  Halting  here,  then*  ranks  were  opened,  so  as  to  make 
an  avenue,  all  the  way  to  the  State  House,  bordered,  it  was  sup- 


188 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


posed,  by  twenty  thousand  persons.  At  one  o’clock  the  approach 
of  the  President  was  announced  by  federal  salutes  from  the  Rox- 
bury  Artillery,  the  Dorchester  Artillery,  posted  on  the  celebrated 
Dorchester  Heights,  the  Boston  Artillery,  at  the  town  line,  and 
the  garrison  of  Castle  William ; a royal  salute  from  His  Most 
Christian  Majesty’s  squadron ; and  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  of 
all  the  churches,  which  continued  fifteen  minutes. 

The  selectmen  having  expressed  to  the  President  the  pleasure 
the  citizens  enjoyed  on  his  arrival,  and  given  him  a hearty  welcome, 
the  marshals  arranged  the  procession  in  the  following  order : 

Five  companies  of  the  City  Troops,  under  Colonel  Bradford, 

Officers  of  the  Municipal  Government, 

Council  and  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State,  in  carriages, 

United  States  Marshal, 

The  President 

In  his  continental  uniform,  on  a white  horse,  attended  by  Major  Jackson  and 
Mr.  Lear,  his  Secretaries,  also  on  horseback, 

The  Vice  President, 

Distinguished  Citizens,  in  carriages, 

Committee  of  Arrangements, 

Clergymen,  Lawyers,  Physicians, 

Civil  Officers, 

Officers  of  the  Revolutionary  Army, 

&c.  &c.  &c. 

followed  by  between  forty  and  fifty  societies,  and  bodies  of  mechanics 
and  tradesmen,  carrying  flags  of  white  silk,  upon  which  were  embla- 
zoned appropriate  devices,  legends  and  mottoes. 

On  arriving  at  the  old  brick  meeting  house  a halt  was  ordered, 
and  the  President  was  conducted  through  a Triumphal  Arch,  erected 
under  the  direction  of  Judge  Dawes,  across  Main  street  — display- 
ing on  one  side,  “ To  the  Man  who  Unites  all  Hearts,”  and  on  the 
other,  “To  Columbia’s  Favorite  Son”  — into  the  Senate  Chamber, 
by  the  east  door  of  the  State  House,  and  thence  to  an  outside  gal 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


189 


lery,  supported  by  thirteen  columns,  over  the  west  door.  His  ap- 
pearance here  was  greeted  with  prolonged  acclamations,  the  streets 
and  every  window  and  house-top,  as  far  as  could  be  seen,  being 
filled  with  people.  He  was  accompanied  to  this  gallery  by  Vice 
President  Adams,  by  the  venerable  patriot  and  scholar,  James  Bow- 
doin,  and  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  the  Council,  his  secretaries, 
and  several  other  gentlemen ; and  as  soon  as  he  had  acknowledged, 
by  gracefully  bowing  to  all  around,  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he 
was  received,  Daniel  Rea,  “ the  famous  vocalist  of  that  town,”  sup- 
ported by  a full  chorus,  began  singing  in  a clear  and  loud  voice, 
from  a canopy  over  the  Triumphal  Arch,  an  ode  which  had  been 
written  for  the  occasion.  When  this  was  concluded  the  procession 
defiled  before  the  gallery,  and  soon  after  the  military  escorted  the 
President  to  his  lodgings,  at  Mrs.  Ingersoll’s  in  Court  street,  where 
he  was  visited  by  many  distinguished  characters,  among  whom  were 
Viscount  de  Ponteves  Gien,*  and  the  other  officers  of  His  Most 
Christian  Majesty’s  squadron. 

In  the  evening  the  public  buildings  generally  and  many  private 
residences  were  brilliantly  illuminated;  the  French  frigates,  the 
Active  and  the  Sensible,  moored  off  the  end  of  Long  wharf,  dis- 
played each  more  than  a thousand  lanterns ; and  from  the  ships, 
the  mall,  and  the  principal  streets,  there  were  exhibitions  of  fire- 
works. 

The  Governor  had  invited  the  President  with  his  suite  to  take 
a family  dinner  at  Hancock  House,  and  the  invitation  had  been 
accepted,  but  as  the  Governor  had  not  come  out  to  meet  him,  or  to 
call  upon  him  after  his  arrival  at  Mrs.  Ingersoll’s,  Washington 

* The  Viscount  de  Ponteves  and  the  captains  of  the  squadron  under  his  command,  declined 
the  invitation  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  to  take  a seat  in  the  balcony  erected  at  the 
State  House,  as  the  ordinances  of  the  king  required  them  to  be  on  board  their  ships  whenever 
the  chief  magistrate  of  a nation  arrived  at  the  place  at  which  they  lay,  to  give  him  the  customary 
eamtes. 


i90 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


avoided  going  near  his  residence.  In  some  negotiations  which,  fol- 
lowed it  was  intimated  on  the  part  of  Hancock,  that  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  sovereignty  of  Massachusetts  he  thought  he  should 
receive  the  first  visit  even  from  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  friends,  however,  remonstrated  with  him,  urging  that  a just 
application  of  his  own  principle  entitled  the  chief  magistrate  of 
all  the  states  to  precedence,  wherever  he  might  be,  within  their 
limits ; and  he  reluctantly  assented  to  this  view  of  the  case,  and  the 
next  evening  went  in  his  coach,  enveloped  in  red  baize,  to  Washing- 
ton’s lodgings,  and  was  borne  in  the  arms  of  servants  into  the  house. 
The  public  were  informed  that  this  delay  was  in  consequence  of  the 
Governor’s  ill  health. 

On  Sunday  the  President  attended  King’s  Chapel  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  one  of  the  Congregational  churches  in  the  afternoon,  and 
on  Monday  he  rode  about  the  city,  accompanied  by  several  leading 
characters,  returned  the  visit  of  the  Governor,  and  received  the 
officers  of  the  French  squadron,  to  whom  he  expressed  his  intention 
of  going  on  board  their  ships  the  following  day. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  he  received  the 
clergy,  who  presented  an  appropriate  address,  which  he  answered 
in  his  happiest  manner.  Among  them  was  Dr.  Belknap,  to  whom, 
when  he  was  introduced,  he  said,  “ I am  indebted  to  you,  sir,  for 
the  History  of  Hew  Hampshire,  and  it  gave  me  great  pleasure.” 
The  amiable  doctor  records  the  circumstance  with  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion, in  his  diary,  and  it  is  mentioned  that  this  was  the  only  instance 
in  which  he  thus  noticed  the  approbation  bestowed  upon  his  literary 
labors.  Soon  after  came  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  accompa- 
nied by  the  Viscount  Ponteves,  the  Marquis  de  Traversay,  and  the 
Chevalier  de  Braye,  members  of  the  society  in  France  (the  Mar- 
quis de  Galissoniere,  who  had  also  served  in  the  revolution,  being 
detained  on  board  his  ship  by  indisposition),  and  received  and  an- 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


191 


swered  their  address.  They  said,  “ After  the  solemn  and  endear- 
ing farewell  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  which  our  anxiety  pre- 
saged as  final,  most  peculiarly  pleasing  is  the  present  unexpected 
meeting.  On  this  occasion  we  cannot  avoid  the  recollection  of  the 
various  scenes  of  toil  and  danger  through  which  you  conducted  us, 
and  while  we  contemplate  the  trying  periods  of  the  war,  and  the 
triumphs  of  peace,  we  rejoice  to  behold  you,  induced  by  the  unani- 
mous voice  of  your  country,  entering  upon  other  trials,  and  other 
services,  alike  important,  and  in  some  points  of  view,  equally  haz- 
ardous. For  the  completion  of  the  great  purposes  which  a grate- 
ful country  has  assigned  you,  long,  very  long,  may  your  invaluable 
life  be  preserved ; and  as  an  admiring  world,  while  considering 
you  as  a soldier,  have  wanted  a comparison,  so  may  your  virtues 
and  talents  as  a statesman,  leave  it  without  a parallel.”  He  said  in 
his  answer,  “ Dear  indeed,  is  the  occasion  which  restores  an  inter- 
course with  my  faithful  associates,  in  prosperous  and  adverse  for- 
tune ; and  enhanced  are  the  triumphs  of  peace,  participated  by 
those  whose  virtue  and  valor  so  largely  contributed  to  procure  them. 
To  that  virtue  and  valor  your  country  has  confessed  her  obligations ; 
be  mine  the  grateful  task  of  adding  the  testimony  of  a connection, 
which  it  was  my  pride  to  own,  in  the  field,  and  it  is  now  my  hap- 
piness to  acknowledge,  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  freedom.” 
At  one  o’clock,  he  received  and  replied  to  an  address  from  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  the  commonwealth.  At  four  o’clock  he 
was  entertained  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  the  Council  (the 
ill  health  of  the  Governor  preventing  his  attendance)  at  a sump- 
tuous dinner,  given  at  Faneuil  Hall,  where  Warren,  Otis,  and  Adams, 
had  fanned  into  life  the  embers  of  the  Revolution.  Among  the 
guests  were  the  Vice  President,  ex-governor  Bowdoin,  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  the  President  of  Harvard  College,  the  clergy 
of  Boston,  the  admiral  and  captains  of  the  French  squadron,  and 


192 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


other  civil  and  military  officers,  citizens,  and  strangers,  to  the  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

On  Wednesday,  at  eleven  o’clock,  he  went  on  board  the  flag- 
ship of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty’s  fleet,  in  a barge  having  at  her 
bow  the  flag  of  the  United  States  and  at  her  stern  that  of  France, 
steered  by  a major  and  rowed  by  midshipmen,  all  dressed  in  red. 
He  was  received  on  deck  with  the  homage  offered  to  kings : a salute 
was  fired,  and  “ the  officers  took  off  their  shoes,  and  the  crew  all 
appeared  with  their  legs  bared.”  Viscount  Ponteves  introduced 
him  to  the  officers,  about  thirty,  who  had  fought  in  America  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  afterwards  to  the  other  gentlemen  of  the  fleet,  of 
which  he  visited  two  more  ships,  and  then  returned  to  the  shore, 
accompanied  by  the  admiral.  In  the  afternoon  he  dined  with 
Governor  Bowdoin,  and  in  the  evening  attended  a brilliant  assem- 
bly at  Concert  Hall,  at  which  were  present  Vice  President  Adams, 
Mrs.  Hancock,*  Lieutenant  Governor  Samuel  Adams  and  Mrs.  Ad- 
ams, the  Viscount  Ponteves,  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  de  la  Ga- 
lissoniere,  and  a great  number  of  other  persons  distinguished  in  af- 
fairs or  in  society.  The  women  of  Boston  wore  as  a sash,  during  the 
President’s  visit,  a broad  white  ribbon,  with  G.  W.,  in  golden  letters, 
encircled  with  a laurel  wreath,  in  front,  and  with  the  American  eagle 
on  one  end,  and  on  the  other  the  French  jleur  de  Us , embroidered. 
The  Marchioness  de  Traversay,  besides  a sash  of  this  description, 
wore  on  the  present  occasion,  on  the  bandeau  of  her  hat,  the  initials 
G.  W.,  and  an  eagle,  set  in  brilliants  on  a ground  of  black  velvet. 

* Mrs.  Hancock,  nee  Quincy,  was  a fine  looking  woman,  high-bred,  and  high-spirited,  and 
generally  dressed  with  great  care  and  an  ornate  elegance.  When  Lafayette  was  last  in  this 
country  he  made  an  early  call  upon  her,  and  the  once  youthful  chevalier  and  unrivalled  belle 
met  as  if  only  a summer  had  passed  since  their  social  interviews  during  the  perils  of  the  Revo- 
lution. She  was  as  attentive  to  taste  in  dress,  in  her  very  last  days,  as  when  in  the  circles  of 
fashion.  She  “ would  never  forgive  a young  girl,”  she  said,  “ who  did  not  dress  to  please,  nor 
one  who  seemed  pleased  with  her  dress.”  There  is  a fine  portrait  of  her,  by  Copley,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  Cushing,  who  occupies  the  ancient  mansion  of  Governor  Wentworth,  near  Ports- 
mouth. 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


193 


HI. 

At  eight  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  thirtieth  of 
October,  the  President  departed  from  Boston.  His  visit  had  been 
upon  the  whole  a very  delightful  one,  but  besides  the  little  contro- 
versy on  a point  of  etiquette  with  Governor  Hancock,  he  had  been 
subjected  to  some  vexation  by  the  imperfect  arrangements  for  his 
reception,  and  on  leaving  was  obliged  to  set  a noticeable  example 
of  punctuality  to  the  city  troops,  whose  offer  to  accompany  him 
he  had  accepted  the  previous  evening.  At  the  very  moment  ap- 
pointed for  his  departure  his  chariot  started  from  Mr.  Ingersoll’s, 
though  the  military  escort  had  not  yet  made  its  appearance.  A 
large  cavalcade,  however,  and  many  carriages,  were  in  readiness,  and 
Major  Gibbs’s  cavalry  came  up  with  them  as  they  were  passing  the 
bridge  over  the  river  Charles,  which  was  finely  decorated  with  the 
flags  of  all  nations.  At  this  moment  he  was  saluted  with  eleven 
guns  from  Captain  Colden’s  artillery,  stationed  on  the  Charlestown 
Heights.  At  Cambridge  he  was  received  in  the  Philosophy  Room* 
of  the  college,  by  the  president  and  corporation,  who,  in  a formal 
address,  declared  their  gratitude  for  his  revolutionary  services  and 
his  patriotism  in  consenting  to  preside  over  the  new  government. 
Reminding  him  of  the  depressed  state  of  the  college  when  he  first 
took  command  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  “ its  members  dispersed, 
its  literary  treasures  removed,  and  the  muses  fled  from  the  din  of 
arms  then  heard  within  its  walls,”  and  comparing  the  danger  with 
which  it  had  been  surrounded  with  its  present  prosperous  and 

* The  Philosophy  Room  at  this  period  was  hung  on  one  side  with  full  length  portraits  of  four 
eminent  benefactors  of  the  college,  Thomas  Hollis,  Nicholas  Boylston,  Thomas  Hancock,  and 
Ezekiel  Hersey.  In  the  centre  of  this  group  was  a portrait  of  the  late  Earl  of  Chatham,  and  a 
view  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  in  eruption.  The  other  sides  were  occupied  with  works  of  Copley, 
and  in  one  corner  was  deposited  the  celebrated  Planetarium  of  Mr.  Pope.  The  floor  was  covered 
with  a rich  carpet,  presented  by  Governor  Hancock. 

25 


194 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


peaceful  condition,  they  invoked  the  blessings  of  Heaven  on  him 
who  had  rendered  such  distinguished  services  to  it  and  to  their 
country.  The  President,  in  reply,  reciprocated  their  affectionate 
sentiments  and  kind  wishes,  and  expressed  his  hope  that  the  muses 
might  “ long  enjoy  a tranquil  residence  ” within  the  walls  of  that 
distinguished  seat  of  learning. 

Proceeding  on  his  journey,  he  stopped  a few  minutes  at  Lynn, 
where  the  gentlemen  who  had  accompanied  him  from  Boston  took 
their  leave,  and  reached  Marblehead  in  time  to  dine  with  General 
Glover.  On  arriving  at  the  boundary  of  Salem  he  was  met  by  Ihe 
selectmen  of  the  town,  and  their  chairman,  Mr.  Nor  they,  a Quaker, 
welcomed  him  in  an  address  equally  agreeable  for  its  brevity  and 
apparent  sincerity:  “Friend  Washington,”  he  said,  taking  the  Pre- 
sident by  the  hand,  “ we  are  glad  to  see  thee,  and  in  behalf  of  the 
inhabitants  bid  thee  a hearty  welcome  to  Salem  ” Salutes  were 
then  fired  from  two  parks  of  artillery,  at  different  points,  and  the 
President,  quitting  his  carriage,  mounted  a beautiful  white  horse, 
on  which  he  proceeded  to  Main  street,  amid  continued  cheers  and 
the  ringing  of  numerous  bells.  After  reviewing  several  regiments, 
in  Main  street,  he  was  escorted  by  a company  of  infantry,  followed 
by  the  principal  citizens,  in  procession,  to  the  Court  House,  into  the 
balcony  of  which  he  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Goodhue,  and  immedi- 
ately was  greeted  with  huzzas  by  the  great  concourse  of  people, 
and  by  an  ode  sung  by  a select  choir  from  a temporary  but  richly 
ornamented  gallery,  erected  for  the  purpose.  In  the  evening  the 
public  buildings  were  illuminated,  there  was  an  exhibition  of  fire- 
works, and  the  President  attended  a ball,  at  which  a brilliant  cir- 
cle displayed  the  taste,  elegance  and  beauty  of  the  Salem  women. 

He  left  Salem  at  nine  o’clock  on  Friday  morning,  escorted  by 
two  troops  of  cavalry,  and  a large  number  of  citizens  — riding  on 
horseback,  to  gratify  the  people,  as  far  as  Essex  Bridge,  which  was 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


195 


ornamented  with  the  flags  of  different  countries.  At  Newburyport, 
where  he  arrived  about  three  o’clock,  he  was  received  with  military 
honors,  an  address  was  presented  by  the  magistrates,  and  there 
were  displays  of  rockets  in  the  evening.  “The  joy  of  the  in- 
habitants was  extreme,  and  their  hospitality  equal  to  their  joy ; 
for  all  who  came  into  the  town  on  the  occasion  were  provided  for 
without  charge.” 

On  Saturday  morning  he  proceeded  toward  Portsmouth.  The 
Marine  Society  of  Newbury  port  had  prepared  a handsome  barge, 
with  rowers  dressed  in  white,  to  convey  him  across  the  Merrimack 
river,  at  Amesbury,  and  during  the  passage  he  received  a royal  salute 
from  the  French  ship  Teneriffe,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  military 
of  the  place  with  appropriate  demonstrations.  At  ten  o’clock  the 
cortege  reached  the  line  of  Massachusetts,  where  the  President  dis- 
mounted and  took  leave  of  the  escort  which  had  thus  far  attended 
him.  He  was  met  here  by  General  Sullivan,  President  of  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire,  with  four  troops  of  light-horse,  and  a numerous  com- 
pany of  public  and  private  characters,  among  whom  were  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  Council,  senators  Langdon  and  Wingate,  and 
the  chiefs  of  the  departments  of  the  government  of  the  common- 
wealth, who  accompanied  him  to  Portsmouth.  All  the  way  the  road 
was  lined  with  spectators,  from  the  neighboring  country,  who  cheered 
him  as  he  passed.  At  Greenland,  where  he  stopped  half  an  hour, 
he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  through  the  ranks  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  assembled  to  behold  “ the  man  whom  God  approves 
and  the  people  delight  to  honor.”  As  he  entered  the  metropolis 
he  was  saluted  with  thirteen  guns  from  Colonel  Hacket’s  artillery 
and  by  the  same  number  from  the  Castle.  The  ships  in  the  harbor 
were  gaily  dressed,  every  door  and  window  was  thronged  with  wo- 
men, and  in  the  street  all  the  trades  were  arranged,  alphabetically, 
in  procession.  The  bells  rung  joyful  peals  all  the  while  until  he 


196 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


reached  the  State  House.  Here  he  was  conducted  by  the  President 
and  Council  through  the  Senate  chamber  into  a balcony,  where  odes 
were  sung,  and  several  companies  of  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery, 
under  the  command  of  General  Cilley,  defiled  before  him,  each  offi- 
cer saluting  him  as  he  passed ; after  which  he  was  conducted  to  his 
lodgings. 

IY. 

Portsmouth  at  this  period  was  the  seat  of  a refined  and  gene- 
rous hospitality,  and  few  cities  in  America  could  boast  of  a more 
cultivated  or  polite  society.  The  situation  of  the  town  was  ex- 
tremely pleasant,  and  its  commercial  prosperity  had  bordered  the 
streets  with  beautiful  houses,  surrounded  by  every  thing  that  evin- 
ces comfort  and  refinement.  Mrs.  Lee  informs  us  in  the  interesting 
memoir  of  her  father,  the  reverend  Dr.  Joseph  Buckminster,  who 
was  one  of  the  ministers  at  the  time  of  Washington’s  visit,  that 
there  were  more  private  carriages  and  livery  servants  in  Ports- 
mouth, in  proportion  to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  than  in  any 
other  place  in  New  England.  “ In  the  old  meeting-house  ancient 
and  venerable  forms  loomed  out  of  the  distant  dimness,  arrayed  in 
all  the  splendor  of  the  dresses  of  the  court  of  George  the  Third  • 
immense  wigs,  white  as  snow,  coats  trimmed  with  gold  lace,  em- 
broidered waistcoats,  ruffles  of  delicate  cambric,  cocked  hats,  and 
gold-headed  canes  — costumes  that  would  now  be  assumed  for  a 
masquerade.” 

The  President’s  arrival  was  on  Saturday,  and  the  next  day  he 
attended  religious  services  in  two  of  the  churches  : in  the  morning 
hearing  Mr.  Ogden,  at  Queen’s  Chapel,  and  in  the  afternoon  Dr. 
Buckminster,  at  the  First  Congregational  Church.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Governor  Sullivan,  Senator  Langdon,  and  his  two  secreta- 
ries, and  was  escorted  to  his  pew  at  Queen’s  Chapel  by  the  marshal  of 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


197 


the  district  and  two  church  wardens,  with  their  staves ; and  a similar 
ceremonial  was  preserved  at  Dr.  Buckminster’s.  Both  pastors  re- 
ferred, in  their  discourses,  to  the  numerous  virtues  of  the  dignified 
personage  whose  appearance  had  diffused  such  general  joy  and 
awakened  in  every  breast  such  grateful  sensations,  and  felicitated 
their  numerous  hearers  on  the  happy  occasion  that  called  them  to- 
gether, to  offer  up  their  unfeigned  thanks  to  the  Father  of  Mercies 
for  his  goodness,  and  to  implore  a continuance  of  his  gracious  bene- 
diction on  the  head  of  the  beloved  Chief. 

On  Monday,  accompanied  by  General  Sullivan,  Senator  Lang- 
don,  and  the  United  States  Marshal,  he  made  an  excursion  about 
the  harbor,  in  a barge,  rowed  by  seamen  dressed  in  white  frocks. 
Two  other  barges  followed,  one  containing  the  French  consul  and 
the  President’s  secretaries,  rowed  by  sailors  in  blue  jackets,  and 
round  hats,  decorated  with  blue  ribbons;  and  the  other  a band, 
who  executed  a variety  of  pieces  of  music.  The  President  went 
on  shore  for  a few  minutes  at  Kittery,  in  the  Province  of  Maine, 
and  afterward  landed  at  the  beautiful  seat  of  Colonel  Wentworth, 
whence,  with  his  attendants,  he  returned  to  the  city  by  land,  and 
was  again  saluted  with  discharges  of  artillery,  from  Church  Hill. 
The  party  dined,  with  several  other  distinguished  persons,  at  Mr. 
Langdon’s. 

The  next  day  the  President  and  Council  of  New  Hampshire 
gave  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  a public  dinner,  at  which 
were  present  one  hundred  persons,  including  the  principal  officers 
of  the  state  government,  the  clergy,  the  members  of  the  bar,  and 
the  most  eminent  private  citizens.  After  the  first  toast,  in  honor 
of  the  illustrious  guest,  he  himself  rose  and  offered,  “ The  State 
of  New  Hampshire,”  and  both,  of  course,  were  drunk  with  every 
sign  of  enthusiasm.  In  the  evening  he  attended  a ball,  and  was 
introduced  to  more  than  seventy  women.  After  he  was  seated  a 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


song  was  sung,  with  accompaniments  by  the  band,  and  the  danc- 
ing followed  till  a late  hour. 

On  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  fifth  of  November,  Wash- 
ington left  Portsmouth  for  New  York.  His  route  was  through  the 
southern  part  of  New  Hampshire,  and  by  way  of  Springfield,  in 
Massachusetts,  to  Hartford,*  where  he  remained  several  days,  to 
rest  from  the  fatigues  of  his  journey.  He  reached  New  York  a 
little  after  noon,  on  Friday,  the  thirteenth,  having  been  absent 
twenty-nine  days. 

Y. 

This  journey  was  eminently  agreeable  and  satisfactory  to  the 
President.  He  was  pleased  with  the  apparent  and  general  well- 
being and  happiness  of  the  people,  and  could  not  have  been  unmoved 
by  the  evidences  of  universal  and  profound  respect  and  affection 
with  which  he  was  greeted  at  every  place  through  which  he  passed. 
It  was  indeed  a continuous  triumphal  march  from  its  commencement 
to  its  end,  unparalleled  in  any  history,  for  the  spontaneous  enthusiasm 
which  lined  all  his  route  with  men,  women,  and  children,  of  every 
rank  and  condition,  who  almost  worshipped  him.  Wherever  he 
moved  he  was  surrounded  by  thousands,  anxious  to  obtain  a sight 
of  his  person,  or  to  greet  him  with  acclamations  of  joy  and  praise. 


* From  Hartford  lie  wrote,  on  tlie  eighth  of  November,  the  following  note  to  Mr.  Taft,  near 
Uxbridge,  Massachusetts:  “Sir:  Being  informed  that  you  have  given  my  name  to  one  of  your 
sons,  and  called  another  after  Mrs.  Washington’s  family,  and  being  moreover  much  pleased  with 
the  modest  and  innocent  looks  of  your  two  daughters,  Patty  and  Polly,  I do  for  these  reasons 
send  each  of  these  girls  a piece  of  chintz;  and  to  Patty,  who  bears  the  name  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, and  who  waited  more  upon  us  than  Polly  did,  I send  five  guineas,  with  which  she  may 
buy  herself  any  little  ornaments  she  may  want,  or  she  may  dispose  of  them  in  any  other  manner 
more  agreeable  to  herself  As  I do  not  give  these  things  with  a view  to  have  it  talked  of,  or 
even  to  its  being  known,  the  less  there  is  said  about  the  matter  the  better  you  will  please  me ; 
but,  that  I may  be  sure  the  chintz  and  money  have  got  safe  to  hand,  let  Patty,  who  I dare  say 
is  equal  to  it,  write  me  a line  informing  me  thereof,  directed  to  ‘ The  President  of  the  United 
States,  New  York.’  I wish  you  and  your  family  well,  and  am  your  humble  servant” 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


199 


Sometimes  crowds  would  follow  him  for  miles,  so  that  in  many  in- 
stances he  stopped  and  entreated  them  to  return  to  their  homes 
and  occupations,  lest  their  devotion  to  him  should  cause  some  incon- 
venience or  be  injurious  to  their  interests. 

“ The  very  trees  bore  men : and  as  the  sun, 

When  from  the  portal  of  the  East  he  dawns 
Beholds  a thousand  birds  upon  the  boughs 
To  welcome  him  with  all  their  warbling  throats, 

So  did  the  people,  in  their  gayest  trim, 

Upon  the  pendant  branches  speak  his  praise ; 

Mothers,  who  covered  all  the  banks  beneath, 

Did  rob  the  crying  infant  of  the  breast, 

Pointing  the  hero  out,  to  make  them  smile ; 

And  climbing  boys  stood  on  their  father’s  shoulders, 

Answering  their  shouting  sires  with  tender  cries, 

To  make  the  concert  up  of  general  joy.” 

If  in  some  instances  the  praise  be  was  constrained  to  bear,  in  tbe 
addresses  presented  by  tbe  public  authorities,  religious  societies, 
literary  institutions,  or  other  bodies,  seemed  extravagant,  and  was 
received  by  bis  modest  spirit  as  undeserved,  be  never  doubted  or 
bad  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  as  sincere  as  it  was  freely  offered. 
But  above  all  other  suggestions  of  happiness  in  this  celebrated 
journey,  was  tbe  assurance,  afforded  by  every  day’s  observation,  that 
tbe  country  was  in  a great  degree  recovered  from  tbe  ravages  of 
war,  that  federal  principles,  tbe  constitution,  and  tbe  administration 
of  tbe  government,  were  generally  approved,  and  that  industry,  en- 
terprise, and  confidence,  under  tbe  existing  condition  of  affairs,  were 
leading  every  community  to  a satisfying  prosperity. 

VI. 

It  bad  been  hoped  by  some  of  tbe  President’s  friends  that  Mrs. 
Washington  would  accompany  him  to  New  England,  but  she  did 
not  do  so.  During  tbe  war  she  bad  become  personally  acquainted 
with  Mrs.  Mercy  Warren,  a sister  of  James  Otis,  and  a public 


200 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


writer  of  considerable  transient  popularity  ;*  and  to  her,  soon  after 
tlie  President’s  return,  she  wrote  the  following  letter,  which  Mr. 
Sparks  justly  describes  as  “ creditable  to  her  understanding,  her 
heart,  and  her  views  of  life : ” 

“ Your  very  friendly  letter,  of  last  month,  has  afforded  me  much 
more  satisfaction  than  all  the  formal  compliments  and  empty  cere- 
monies of  mere  etiquette  could  possibly  have  done.  I am  not  apt  to 
forget  the  feelings  which  have  been  inspired  by  my  former  society 
with  good  acquaintances,  nor  to  be  insensible  to  their  expressions 
of  gratitude  to  the  President ; for  you  know  me  well  enough  to  do 


* Mrs.  Warren  was  now  more  than  sixty  years  of  age,  and  had  little  left  of  that  beauty  which 
is  seen  in  Copley’s  portrait  of  her.  She  was  engaged  in  the  composition  of  her  “ History  of  the 
Rise,  Progress,  and  Termination  of  the  American  Revolution,”  a work  which  was  not  published 
until  many  years  after,  and  had  in  press  her  “ Poems,  Dramatic  and  Miscellaneous,”  which 
appeared  in  a few  weeks  after  Washington  was  in  Boston.  Her  contributions  to  periodicals 
have  never  been  collected,  but  she  appears  to  have  written  much  in  this  way.  In  the  Massachu- 
setts Magazine,  for  January,  1790,  she  has  a criticism  of  Chesterfield,  which  some  admiring 
contemporary  bard  describes  as  follows : 

“ The  learn6d  Hunter’s  classic  sense 
’Gainst  Dormer  proved  a weak  defence ; 

In  vain  his  pen  with  zealous  rage 
Attacked  my  lord’s  insidious  page ; 

The  man  meant  well,  but  Stanhope’s  wit 
Zlis  character  before  had  hit : 

Smart  Philip  drew  a scientific  bear  — 

Fops,  fribbles,  said,  ’t  was  Hunter,  to  a hair  1 
In  vain  did  Mclmoth,  more  refined, 

In  Sedley’s  vices  paint  the  mind 
Ignoble  Chesterfield  possessed : 

False  coloring  gave  it  such  a zest 
That  brainless  witlings  cried  ‘ Pardi, 

O'est  Men  outree  — the  blind  may  see.’ 

But  soon  as  Vabeen  conned  the  book, 

Her  eagle  eye,  with  piercing  look, 

At  once  unravelled  simulation's  maze, 

And  won  the  meed  of  universal  praise.” 

In  reply  to  some  complimentary  verses,  addressed  to  her,  in  the  same  year,  Mrs.  Warren  thus 
refers  to  her  own  history: 

“ Me  ‘ fortune  favors 1 not,  though  ‘ friends  caress,’— 

‘With  every  wish’  denied  the  ‘power  to  bless.’ 

On  ‘ pleasure’s  throne  ’ my  seat  was  never  reared, 

On  ‘life’s  gay  theatre  ’ I ne’er  appeared  : 

In  sorrow's  vale  were  passed  my  earliest  years  — 

There  did  I learn  the  luxury  of  tears ; 

And  now,  deprived  of  health,  no  power  I boast  — 

Like  a wrecked  vessel  on  some  desert  coast, 

Or  a weak  barque  upon  the  ocean  tossed. 

Each  cheering,  social  scene,  to  me  is  lost,” 


THE  EASTERN  TOUR. 


201 


me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I am  fond  only  of  what  comes  from 
the  heart.  Under  a conviction  that  the  demonstrations  of  respect 
and  affection  to  him  originate  in  that  source,  I cannot  deny  that  I 
have  taken  some  interest  and  pleasure  in  them.  The  difficulties 
which  presented  themselves  to  view  upon  his  first  entering  upon 
the  Presidency  seem  thus  to  be,  in  some  measure,  surmounted.  It 
is  owing  to  the  kindness  of  our  numerous  friends,  in  all  quarters,  that 
my  new  and  unwished-for  situation  is  not  indeed  a burden  to  me. 
When  I was  much  younger,  I should  probably  have  enjoyed  the 
innocent  gayeties  of  life  as  much  as  most  persons  of  my  age ; but 
I had  long  since  placed  all  the  prospects  of  my  future  worldly  hap- 
piness in  the  still  enjoyments  of  the  fireside  at  Mount  Vernon. 

“ I little  thought  when  the  war  was  finished,  that  any  circum- 
stances could  possibly  happen,  which  would  call  the  General  into 
public  life  again.  I had  anticipated  that,  from  that  moment,  we 
should  be  suffered  to  grow  old  together,  in  solitude  and  tranquillity. 
That  was  the  first  and  dearest  wish  of  my  heart.  I will  not,  how- 
ever, contemplate,  with  too  much  regret,  disappointments  that 
were  inevitable ; though  his  feelings  and  my  own  were  in  perfect 
unison  with  respect  to  our  predilection  for  private  life,  yet  I can- 
not blame  him  for  having  acted  according  to  his  ideas  of  duty  in 
obeying  the  voice  of  his  country.  The  consciousness  of  having 
attempted  to  do  all  the  good  in  his  power,  and  the  pleasure  of  find- 
ing his  fellow  citizens  so  well  satisfied  with  the  disinterestedness  of  his 
conduct,  will  doubtless  be  some  compensation  for  the  great  sacrifices 
which  I know  he  has  made.  Indeed,  on  his  journey  from  Mount 
Vernon  to  this  place,  in  his  late  tour  through  the  Eastern  States, 
by  every  public  and  every  private  information  which  has  come  to 
him,  I am  persuaded  he  has  experienced  nothing  to  make  him  re- 
pent his  having  acted  from  what  he  conceives  to  be  a sense  of  in- 
dispensable duty.  On  the  contrary,  all  his  sensibility  has  been 
26 


202 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


awakened  in  receiving  sucli  repeated  and  unequivocal  proofs  of  sin- 
cere regard  from  his  countrymen. 

“ With  respect  to  myself,  I sometimes  think  the  arrangement  is 
not  quite  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  that  I,  who  had  much  rather 
he  at  home,  should  occupy  a place  with  which  a great  many  younger 
and  gayer  women  would  he  extremely  pleased.  As  my  grand-chil- 
dren and  domestic  connections  make  up  a great  portion  of  the  feli- 
city which  I looked  for  in  this  world,  I shall  hardly  he  able  to  find 
any  substitute,  that  will  indemnify  me  for  the  loss  of  such  endear- 
ing society.  I do  not  say  this  because  I feel  dissatisfied  with  my 
present  station,  for  every  body  and  every  thing  conspire  to  make 
me  as  content  as  possible  in  it,  yet  I have  learned  too  much  of  the 
vanity  of  human  affairs  to  expect  felicity  from  the  scenes  of  public 
life.  I am  still  determined  to  be  cheerful  and  happy  in  whatever 
situation  I may  be ; for  I have  also  learned,  from  experience,  that 
the  greater  part  of  our  happiness  or  misery  depends  on  our  dispo- 
sitions, and  not  on  our  circumstances.  We  carry  the  seeds  of  the 
one  or  the  other  about  with  us  in  our  minds,  wherever  we  go. 

“ I have  two  of  my  grand-children  with  me,  who  enjoy  advan- 
tages in  point  of  education,  and  who,  I trust,  by  the  goodness  of 
Providence,  will  be  a great  blessing  to  me.  My  other  two  grand- 
children are  with  their  mother  in  Virginia.” 


THE  SEASON  OF  EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


i. 

There  was  a great  deal  of  social  elegance  in  New  York  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  though  it  must  he  confessed  that  in  this 
respect  the  city  could  not  he  favorably  compared  with  Philadelphia. 
Several  families  had  held  in  the  Province  a sort  of  baronial  suprem- 
acy, and  they  were  now  eminent  in  private  life  or  public  service ; 
but  there  were  no  women  here  exercising  that  sway  over  manners 
and  pleasures  which  was  held  in  Philadelphia  for  many  years  by 
Mrs.  Bingham.  The  Livingstons,  Clintons,  Van  Rensselaers,  Beek- 
mans,  Courtlandts,  Philipses,  Jays,  De  Lanceys,  Osgoods,  and  other 
powerful  families,  many  of  whom  were  represented  by  manorial 
lords,  possessed  the  solid  distinctions  of  great  wealth  and  good 
sense ; but  the  piquant  comparative  criticisms  of  society  in  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  written  by  Miss  Rebecca  Franks,  soon  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  had  still  a certain  truth,  which  was  easily  re- 
cognized by  persons  familiar  with  the  private  life  of  both  cities. 

New  York  was  the  metropolis  of  the  United  States,  under  the 
Constitution,  less  than  two  years,  and  this  period  embraced  but 
one  winter.  In  the  May  and  June  following  the  inauguration  there 
were  a few  public  balls,  and  probably  many  private  ones,  but  the 
ill  health  of  the  President,  the  death  of  his  mother,  and  other  cir- 


204 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


cumstances,  prevented  him  from  attending  any  subsequent  to  that 
given  by  the  Count  de  Moustier,  which  has  already  been  described 
in  these  pages,  until  after  his  return  from  the  tour  through  the 
Eastern  States,  about  the  middle  of  November.  Mrs.  Washington 
had  little  inclination  for  such  amusements,  and  was  never  once  pre- 
sent at  any  ball  in  New  York  after  the  close  of  the  revolution,  not- 
withstanding what  Mr.  Jefferson  says  on  this  subject. 

II. 

The  adjournment  of  Congress,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  Septem- 
ber, had  been  followed  by  a general  dispersion  of  the  families  at- 
tracted to  New  York  by  the  exigencies  of  the  public  business,  and 
but  few  of  them  returned  before  the  latter  part  of  December.  In 
the  mean  time,  however,  there  were  several  accessions  to  official 
circles,  and  busy  preparations  for  a gay  winter  season. 

Of  New  England  families  perhaps  not  one  had  been  more  hon- 
ored and  trusted  than  that  of  Wolcott,  and  certainly  no  family  in 
all  the  continent  had  preserved  through  its  American  generations 
a purer  fame.  Henry  Wolcott  emigrated  from  the  mother  country 
in  1630,  to  escape  religious  persecution,  and  after  a short  residence 
at  Dorchester,  in  Massachusetts,  settled  in  Windsor,  Connecticut 
His  grandson,  Roger  Wolcott,  was  distinguished  for  military  and 
civil  services,  and  occupied  in  succession  the  most  important  offices 
in  the  colony,  ending  with  that  of  governor.  His  son  Oliver  en- 
tered the  army  at  twenty-one  years  of  age,  as  a captain  in  the 
New  York  forces,  and  served  on  the  northern  frontier  until  the 
peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle.  He  also  became  governor  of  Connecticut, 
and  was  a signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  son, 
the  second  Oliver  Wolcott,  now  between  twenty-nine  and  thirty 
years  of  age,  was  in  the  autumn  of  1789  appointed  auditor  of  the 
Treasury,  and  we  possess  in  his  memoirs  not  only  a mine  of  the 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


205 


richest  material  for  public  history,  but  many  very  interesting 
glimpses  of  society  and  the  circumstances  of  common  life  in  the 
memorable  period  when  the  first  President  of  the  Republic  was  the 
centre  of  the  comb,  or  most  eminent  circle,  about  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. Among  his  classmates  had  been  Joel  Barlow,  Zephaniah 
Swift,  Uriah  Tracy,  and  Noah  Webster;  and  after  his  admission 
to  the  bar,  and  settlement  in  Hartford,  he  had  been  of  that  famous 
company  of  “ Connecticut  wits,”*  including  Trumbull,  the  author  of 

* On  the  ninth  of  December,  Trumbull  wrote  to  Wolcott,  from  Hartford,  a characteristic  let- 
ter, in  which  he  says,  “ Our  circle  of  friends  wants  new  recruits.  Humphreys,  Barlow,  and  you 
are  lost  to  us.  Dr.  Hopkins  has  an  itch  of  running  away  to  Hew  York,  but  I trust  his  indolence 
will  prevent  him.  However  if  you  should  catch  him  in  your  city  I desire  you  to  take  him  up 
and  return  him,  or  scare  him  so  that  we  may  have  him  again,  for  which  you  shall  have  sixpence 
reward  and  all  charges.  Webster  has  returned  and  brought  with  him  a very  pretty  wife.  I 
wish  him  success,  but  I doubt  in  the  present  decay  of  business  in  our  profession,  whether  his 
profits  will  enable  him  to  keep  up  the  style  he  sets  out  with.  I fear  he  will  breakfast  upon 
Institutes,  dine  upon  Dissertations,  and  go  to  bed  supperless.  I cannot  conceive  what  Barlow  is 
doing.  After  being  eighteen  months  abroad,  you  tell  me  he  has  got  so  far  as  to  see  favorable  pros- 
pects. If  he  should  not  effect  something  soon,  I would  advise  him  to  write  ‘ The  Vision  of  Bar- 
low,’  as  a sequel  to  those  of  Columbus  and  McFingal.  Pray  congratulate  Colonel  Humphreys,  in 
my  name,  on  his  late  promotion  in  the  diplomatic  line.  If  I understand  the  matter  rightly,  he 
holds  the  same  post  which  Crispe  promised  George  in  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield.  You  remember 
Crispe  told  him  there  was  an  embassy  talked  of  from  the  synod  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  Chicka- 
saw Indians,  and  he  would  use  his  interest  to  get  him  appointed  Secretary.  Tell  him  not  to  be 
discouraged  too  much  at  his  want  of  success.  The  President  has  tried  him  on  McGillivray  first, 
and  he  did  not  suit  the  skull  of  the  savage,  but  we  cannot  argue  from  that  circumstance  that  he 
could  not  fit  as  easy  as  a full  bottomed  wig  upon  the  fat-headed,  sot-headed,  and  crazy-headed 
sovereigns  of  Europe.  Tell  him  this  story  also,  for  his  comfort,  and  to  encourage  his  hopes  of 
speedy  employment : A king  being  angry  with  an  ambassador,  asked  him  whether  his  mastei 
had  no  wise  men  at  Court,  and  was  therefore  obliged  to  send  him  a fool  ? ‘ Sire,’  said  the  other, 

‘ my  master  has  many  wise  men  about  his  court,  but  he  conceived  me  the  most  proper  ambassa- 
dor to  your  majesty.’  Upon  this  principle  I am  in  daily  expectation  of  hearing  that  he  is  ap- 
pointed minister  plenipo.  to  George,  Louis,  or  the  Stadth older.  Por  is  not  his  name  Mumps  i 
You  must  know  that  at  this  present  writing  I am  confined  with  this  paltry  influenza.  I kept  it 
for  six  weeks  at  the  stave’s  end,  as  Shakspeare’s  Malvolio  did  Beelzebub,  but  it  has  driven  me 
into  close  quarters  at  last.  Indeed  I could  not  expect  to  avoid  it,  for  old  Wronghead  says  it  is  a 
Federal  disorder,  bred  out  of  the  new  Constitution  at  Hew  York,  and  communicated  by  infection 
from  Congress.  I see  the  President  has  returned  all  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  incense.  It  must 
have  given  him  satisfaction  to  find  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  united  in  his  favor;  but  the 
blunt  and  acknowledged  adulation  of  our  addresses  must  often  have  wounded  his  feelings.  We 
have  gone  through  all  the  popish  grades  of  worship,  at  least  up  to  the  Hyperdoulia.  This  tour 
has  answered  a good  political  purpose,  and  in  a great  measure  stilled  those  who  were  clamoring 
about  the  wages  of  Congress  and  the  salaries  of  officers.” — Gibbs’s  History,  i.  25. 


206 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


“McFingal,”  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins,  author  of  “ The  Hypocrite’s  Hope  ” 
and  numerous  political  satires,  Richard  Alsop,  one  of  the  -writers 
of  “ The  Echo  ” and  “ The  Political  Green  House,”  Joel  Barlow, 
who  was  already  celebrated  for  his  “ Vision  of  Columbus,”  Noah 
Webster,  Theodore  Dwight,  and  others,  whose  intellectual  displays 
had  won  for  that  city  a reputation  altogether  unique  in  the  annals 
of  American  intelligence. 

Before  Wolcott  accepted  the  place  to  which  he  was  invited  he 
wrote  to  Oliver  Ellsworth  to  ascertain  something  of  the  cost  of 
living  in  New  York,  that  he  might  decide  whether  the  modest  an- 
nuity of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  would  enable  him  to  sustain  those 
outward  appearances  which  he  regarded  as  suitable  for  an  officer  of 
such  rank  in  the  administration.  Ellsworth  made  the  necessary 
inquiries  and  answered  that  a house  with  a stable  would  cost  about 
two  hundred  dollars  a year,  the  best  wood  four  dollars  a cord,  oak 
wood  two  dollars  and  a half  a cord,  hay  eight  dollars  a ton,  and 
marketing  twenty-five  per  centum  more  than  in  Hartford ; conclud- 
ing, that  one  thousand  dollars  a year  would  support  him  and  his 
family  very  well.  This  was  encouraging,  and  he  came  down  to  the 
city  to  complete  his  investigation,  as  to  expenses,  duties,  and  gene- 
ralities, and  consented  to  take  the  situation.  “This,”  he  wrote  to 
his  wife,  “ on  consultation  with  my  friends,  I think  will  be  best  for 
us.  If  we  are  careful,  we  may  save  some  property,  more  than  I 
can  expect  to  in  Connecticut,  and  by  observation  of  the  people  in 
public  service,  and  other  respectable  families,  I am  confident  that 
no  change  in  our  habits  of  living  will  in  any  degree  be  necessary.  . . . 
The  example  of  the  President  and  his  family  will  render  parade 
and  expense  improper  and  disreputable .”  That  last  sentence  is 
very  significant,  and  has  all  the  force  it  could  receive  from  consider- 
ations the  most  favorable  for  its  honesty  and  justice,  as  an  indica- 
tion of  the  republican  simplicity  maintained  by  Washington  in  his 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


207 


household,  and  in  whatever  was  connected  with  his  relations  to 
society.  New  York  appears  to  have  been  envied  and  slandered  by 
nearly  all  the  other  cities,  from  the  time  when  it  was  decided  to 
make  it  even  the  temporary  seat  of  government.  Soon  after  the 
inauguration,  the  Boston  Gazette  congratulated  with  the  country 
upon  the  discovery  that  “ our  beloved  President  stands  unmoved  in 
the  vortex  of  folly  and  dissipation  which  New  York  presents.” 
Wolcott,  a keen  observer,  educated  to  puritanical  ideas,  thought 
better  of  it.  After  a residence  of  about  three  months  he  wrote 
to  his  mother,  “ There  appears  to  be  great  regularity  here ; honesty 
is  as  much  in  fashion  as  in  Connecticut ; and  I am  persuaded  that 
there  is  a much  greater  attention  to  good  morals  than  has  been  sup- 
posed. So  far  as  an  attention  to  the  Sabbath  is  a criterion  of  reli- 
gion, a comparison  between  this  city  and  many  places  in  Connecti- 
cut would  be  in  favor  of  New  York.” 

Another  person,  now  for  the  first  time  connected  with  the  ad- 
ministration, was  Edmund  Randolph,  the  Attorney  General,  whose 
courtly  manners  and  fine  colloquial  abilities  had  caused  him  to  be  de- 
scribed as  the  “ first  gentleman  of  Virginia.”  His  father,  who  had 
held  important  situations  in  the  colonial  government,  had  proved 
a Tory  when  the  difficulties  with  England  came  to  a crisis,  and  left 
the  country  with  Lord  Dunmore.  Edmund  Randolph  had  applied 
himself  to  the  law,  and  had  risen  to  such  popularity  as  to  succeed 
Patrick  Henry  in  the  governorship  of  Virginia,  in  1786.  He  was  a 
large  man,  finely  formed,  and  always  dressed  with  care  and  ele- 
gance. His  young  kinsman,  John  Randolph*  of  Roanoke,  had  been 

* Nothing  could  be  more  amusing  than  the  correspondence  which  John  Randolph  maintained 
for  some  time  about  this  period  with  Mrs.  Morris.  All  the  littleness,  superciliousness,  and  puerile 
jealousy,  of  his  nature,  were  displayed  in  it,  as  amply  as  if  these  qualities  were  already  in  their 
fullest  development.  Several  years  ago  I read  a copy  of  it,  then  in  possession  of  my  most  loved 
and  honored  but  since  most  unfortunate  friend,  Charles  Fenno  Hofiman.  It  has  never  been 
printed,  but  those  who  have  read  any  of  the  manuscript  copies  of  it  will  not  easily  forget  the 
clever  and  dramatic  management  of  Mrs.  Morris,  by  which  Randolph  was  exposed  and  outwitted 


208 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


in  the  city  ever  since  the  preceding  April ; though  but  sixteen  years 
of  age,  and  lank,  awkward,  and  ill-dressed,  he  was  known  to  every 
body  about  town ; and  it  required  little  observation  and  insight  to 
perceive  that  he  was  a very  extraordinary  character.  Thomas  Tu- 
dor Tucker  was  a brother  of  his  father-in-law,  Theodore  Bland  was 
his  uncle,  Richard  Bland  Lee  was  his  cousin,  and  he  had  several 
other  relatives  in  the  two  houses  of  Congress. 

Charles  Carroll,*  senator  from  Maryland,  is  described  by  Sulli- 
van as  “ rather  a small  and  thin  person,  of  very  gracious  and  pol- 

* “ Charles  Carroll’s  family,”  says  Lord  Brougham,  “ was  settled  in  Maryland  ever  since  the 
reign  of  James  II.,  and  had  during  that  period  been  possessed  of  the  same  ample  property,  the 
largest  in  the  Union.  It  stood,  therefore,  at  the  head  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  country;  was 
naturally  in  alliance  with  the  government;  could  gain  nothing  while  it  risked  every  thing  by  a 
change  of  dynasty ; and  therefore,  according  to  all  the  rules  and  the  prejudices  and  the  frailties 
which  are  commonly  found  guiding  the  conduct  of  men  in  a crisis  of  affairs,  Charles  Carroll  might 
have  been  expected  to  take  part  against  the  revolt,  certainly  never  to  join  in  promoting  it.  Such, 
however,  was  not  this  patriotic  person.  He  was  among  the  foremost  to  sign  the  celebrated 
Declaration  of  Independence.  All  who  did  so  were  believed  to  have  devoted  themselves  and 
their  families  to  the  furies.  As  he  set  his  hand  to  the  instrument,  the  whisper  ran  round  the  hall 
of  Congress,  ‘ There  go  some  millions  of  property  I ’ And  there  being  many  of  the  same  name, 
when  he  heard  it  said,  ‘Nobody  will  know  which  Carroll  it  is,’  as  no  one  signed  more  than  his 
name;  and  one  at  his  elbow,  addressing  him,  remarked,  ‘You’ll  get  clear — there  are  several  of 
the  name  — they  will  never  know  which  to  take,’  he  replied,  ‘ Not  so  1 ’ and  instantly  added  his 
residence,  ‘ of  Carrollton.’  He  was  not  only  a man  of  firm  mind  and  steadily-fixed  principles ; 
he  was  also  a person  of  great  accomplishments  and  excellent  abilities.  Educated  in  the  study 
of  the  civil  law  at  one  of  the  French  colleges,  he  had  resided  long  enough  in  Europe  to  perfect 
his  learning  in  all  the  ordinary  branches  of  knowledge.  On  his  return  to  America,  he  sided  with 
the  people  against  the  mother  country,  and  was  soon  known  and  esteemed  as  among  the  ablest 
writers  of  the  Independent  party.  The  confidence  reposed  in  him  soon  after  was  so  great  that 
he  was  joined  with  Franklin  in  the  commission  of  three  sent  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  the 
Canadians  in  the  revolt.  He  was  a member  of  Congress  for  the  first  two  trying  years,  when  that 
body  was  only  fourteen  in  number,  and  might  rather  be  deemed  a cabinet  council  for  action 
than  any  thing  like  a deliberative  senate.  He  then  belonged,  during  the  rest  of  the  war,  to  the 
legislature  of  his  native  state,  Maryland,  until  l^S,  when  he  was  elected  one  of  the  United  States 

Senate,  and  continued  for  three  years  to  act  in  this  capacity As  no  one  had  run  so  large  a 

risk  by  joining  the  revolt,  so  no  one  had  adhered  to  the  standard  of  freedom  more  firmly,  in  all 
its  fortunes,  whether  waving  in  triumph  or  over  disaster  and  defeat.  He  never  had  despaired 
of  the  commonwealth,  nor  ever  had  lent  his  ear  to  factious  councils ; never  had  shrunk  from 
any  sacrifice,  nor  ever  had  pressed  himself  forward  to  the  exclusion  of  men  better  fitted  to  serve 
the  common  cause.  Thus  it  happened  to  him  that  no  man  was  more  universally  respected  and 
beloved ; none  had  fewer  enemies ; and,  notwithstanding  the  ample  share  in  which  the  gifts  of 
fortune  were  showered  upon  his  house,  no  one  grudged  its  prosperity.  It  would,  however,  be  a 


UB8AM 
OF  ffs  t 

mn*»H  Of  ILLINOIS 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


209 


ished  manners.”  Pie  was  accompanied  in  New  York  during  the 
second  session  of  the  first  Congress  by  several  members  of  his  fa* 
mily,  which  was  in  a few  years  to  be  so  largely  represented  among 
the  most  dignified  circles  of  the  British  aristocracy.  His  daughter, 
Polly  Carroll,  had  been  married,  in  Baltimore,  in  November,  1786, 
to  Mr.  Richard  Caton,*  an  English  gentleman  who  came  to  this 

very  erroneous  view  of  his  merits  and  of  the  place  which  he  filled  in  the  eye  of  his  country, 
which  should  represent  him  as  only  respected  for  his  patriotism  and  his  virtues.  He  had  talents 
and  acquirements  which  enabled  him  effectually  to  help  the  cause  he  espoused.  His  knowledge 
was  various,  and  his  eloquence  was  of  a high  order.  It  was,  like  his  character,  mild  and  pleas- 
ing : like  his  deportment,  correct  and  faultless,  flowing  smoothly,  and  executing  far  more  than  it 
seemed  to  aim  at ; every  one  was  charmed  by  it,  and  many  were  persuaded.  His  taste  was  pecu- 
liarly chaste,  for  he  was  a scholar  of  extraordinary  accomplishments,  and  few,  if  any,  of  the 
speakers  in  the  Hew  World  came  nearer  the  models  of  the  more  refined  oratory  practised  in  the 
parent  state.  Nature  and  ease,  want  of  effort,  gentleness,  united  with  sufficient  strength,  are 
noted  as  its  enviable  characteristics ; and  as  it  thus  approached  the  tone  of  conversation,  so,  long 
after  he  ceased  to  appear  in  public,  his  private  society  is  represented  as  displaying  much  of  his 
rhetorical  powers,  and  has  been  compared,  not  unhappily,  by  a late  writer,  to  the  words  of  Nes- 
tor, which  fell  like  vernal  snows  as  he  spake  to  the  people.  In  commotions,  whether  of  the  sen- 
ate or  the  multitude,  such  a speaker,  by  his  calmness  and  firmness  joined,  might  well  hope  to 
have  the  weight,  and  to  exert  the  control  and  mediatory  authority  of  him,  pietate  gravis  et  men- 
tis, who regit  dictis  animos  et  peetora  mulcet.” 

* As  early  as  1809  two  of  the  daughters  of  Mr.  Caton  were  reigning  belles  of  Baltimore  and 
Washington.  The  memoirs  of  the  eldest  would  constitute  a narrative  of  singular  and  romantic 
interest.  In  the  first  flowering  of  womanly  beauty  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Robert  Patterson,  an 
accomplished  and  wealthy  merchant  of  Baltimore,  with  whom  she  travelled  in  Europe,  where 
she  attracted  the  attention  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  afterwards  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  fol- 
lowed her  over  half  the  continent,  and  by  his  unguarded  devotion  incurred  not  a little  scandal. 
Mrs.  Patterson  returned  to  Maryland,  and  her  admirer  for  many  months  wrote  a minute  diary 
of  what  occurred  in  the  gay  world  abroad,  which  he  transmitted  in  letters  by  every  packet  for 
the  United  States.  When  she  became  a widow  she  revisited  London;  hut  the  future  hero  of 
Waterloo  was  now  himself  married,  and  therefore  unable  to  offer  her  his  hand;  he  however  in- 
troduced his  elder  brother,  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  “ that  great  statesman  whose  outset  in  life 
was  marked  by  a cordial  support  of  American  independence,”  and  who  was  now  Viceroy  of 
Ireland,  and  he  soon  after  became  her  husband.  Sir  Arthur  continued  through  all  his  splendid 
career  to  be  one  of  the  warmest  of  her  friends.  The  Marchioness  of  Wellesley  died  at  Hampton 
Court,  on  the  seventeenth  of  December,  1853.  One  of  her  sisters  was  married  to  Colonel  Her- 
vey,  an  aid-de-camp  to  Lord  Wellington  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  and,  becoming  a widow,  was 
subsequently  united  to  the  Marquis  of  Caermarthen,  afterwards  Duke  of  Leeds.  Another  sister 
married  Baron  Stafford,  and  another  Mr.  McTavish,  for  many  years  British  consul  at  Balti 
more.  Mrs.  McTavish  still  survives,  and  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  respected  women 
of  her  native  city. 


27 


210 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


country  in  the  previous  year.  Mrs.  Caton’s  amiable  and  graceful 
manners  made  her  a general  favorite,  and  Washington,  in  particular, 
was  extremely  partial  to  her. 

Of  the  loyalist  families  remaining  in  the  city  perhaps  Rone  was 
more  conspicuous  in  society  than  that  of  Henry  White*  His 
wife  was  a Van  Courtlandt,  and  appears  not  to  have  accompa- 
nied him  to  England.  There  were  two  Misses  White  who  were 
very  much  admired.  They  resided  in  Wall  street,  near  Broadway. 

In  this  period  New  York  was  without  any  foreign  ministers  of 
much  personal  or  social  distinction.  The  Count  de  Moustier  had 
taken  leave  the  day  before  the  President  started  upon  his  tour 
through  the  eastern  states ; M.  Otto  and  the  Sieur  de  Crevecoeur 
were  also  in  France,  with  their  families ; and  Don  Diego  Gardoqui 
was  now  in  Spain.  Mr.  Van  Berckel,  had,  however,  returned  from 

* Sabine  says  Henry  White  went  to  England  in  lVSS,  and  that  his  widow  died  in  New  York, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-nine,  in  1836.  One  of  her  sons  was  Lieutenant  General  White,  of  the  British 
army ; another  was  Rear  Admiral  White,  of  the  Royal  Navy.  One  of  her  daughters  was  dowager 
Lady  Hayes,  and  widow  of  Peter  Jay  Monroe.  “Madam  White  was  a lady  of  great  wealth,  and 
her  recollections  of  New  York  society  were  curious.”  In  1787  we  find  that  one  “ J.  B.”  imitated 
an  epigram  of  Martial,  in  an  address  to  Miss  M.  White,  as  follows : 

“ My  lovely  maid,  I ' ve  often  thought 
Whether  thy  name  he  just  or  not ; 

Thy  bosom  is  as  cold  as  snow, 

Which  we  for  matchless  white  may  show ; 

But  when  thy  beauteous  face  Is  seen, 

Thou  ’rt  of  brunettes  the  charming  queen. 

Eesolve  our  doubts : let  it  be  known 
Thou  rather  art  inclined  to  Brown." 

An  ancient  citizen,  a few  years  ago,  in  a letter  to  General  Morris,  referring  to  the  winter  of  1789 
and  1790,  says : “ You  must  remember  the  Misses  White,  so  gay  and  fashionable,  so  charming 

in  conversation,  with  such  elegant  figures I remember  going  one  night  with  Sir  John 

Temple  and  Henry  Remsen  to  a party  at  their  house.  I was  dressed  in  a light  French  blue  coat, 
with  a high  collar,  broad  lappels,  and  large  gilt  buttons,  a double-breasted  Marseilles  vest, 
Nankeen-colored  cassimere  breeches,  with  white  silk  stockings,  shining  pumps,  and  fall  ruffles 
on  my  breast  and  at  my  wrists,  together  with  a ponderous  white  cravat,  with  a pudding  in  it, 
as  we  then  called  it ; and  I was  considered  the  best-dressed  gentleman  in  the  room.  I remember 
to  have  walked  a minuet  with  much  grace,  with  my  friend  Mrs.  Verplanck,  who  was  dressed  in 
hoop  and  petticoats ; and,  singularly  enough,  I caught  cold  that  night  from  drinking  hot  Port 
wine  negus,  and  riding  home  in  a sedan  chair,  with  one  of  the  glasses  broken.” 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


21 J 


a visit  to  Europe,  and  liad  been  received  by  tbe  President  as  the  re- 
presentative of  tbeir  High  Mightinesses,  tbe  States  General  of  tbe 
United  Netherlands. 


III. 

% 

The  President  during  tbe  autumn  labored  with  unfaltering  assi- 
duity, though  frequently  warned  of  the  necessity  of  some  relaxation  of 
his  devotion  to  affairs ; “ he  does  not  look  so  well  as  I expected  to  see 
him,”  wrote  Mr.  Harrison,  the  celebrated  advocate,  to  Mr.  Powell,  of 
Philadelphia,  “ and  I have  heard  it  said  that  he  is  disposed  to  be  un- 
social ; but  this,  I apprehend,  is  owing  to  the  excessive  anxiety  he 
has  to  discharge  every  duty  in  the  very  best  manner,  and  I am 
persuaded  that  there  is  hardly  another  man  connected  with  the  go- 
vernment who  performs  as  much  really  hard  work.”  Though  he 
himself  in  several  letters  refers  to  his  health  as  much  improved,  it 
is  evident  that  he  never  entirely  recovered  from  the  illness  which 
had  prostrated  him  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  summer. 

He  sometimes,  however,  gratified  the  people  by  participating  in 
their  public  amusements ; on  one  occasion  it  is  mentioned  that,  with 
Mrs.  Washington  and  other  members  of  his  family,  he  was  “ pleased 
to  honor  with  his  company  Mr.  Bowen’s  exhibition  of  wax-work, 
at  number  seventy-four  Water  street,  and  appeared  well  satisfied 
with  the  late  improvements  made  by  the  proprietor.”  Soon  after, 
with  Governor  Clinton,  he  attended  a review  and  sham-fight,  de- 
vised by  Colonel  Bauman  and  others,  of  which  it  is  said  that  it 
“ afforded  the  highest  entertainment  to  a large  concourse  of  respec- 
table characters ; ” and  he  now  and  then  went  to  see  a play. 

The  theatre  had  of  course  met  with  decided  opposition  in  nearly 
all  the  states.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  will  ever  cease  to  be  op- 
posed, and  it  is  quite  certain  that  it  will  always  exist,  where  there 
is  even  a shadow  of  real  civilization.  The  corruption  of  the  drama 


212 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


and  the  profligacy  of  actors  are  constantly  asserted,  but  who  is  so 
blind  as  not  to  see  that  the  withdrawal  of  the  religious  and  ser- 
vilely formal  and  nominally  virtuous,  from  an  inevitable  institution, 
will  pervert  it,  and  deprave  it,  and  make  it  injurious  to  society, 
while  a more  kindly  guardianship  might  render  it  a conservator  of 
morality  and  refinement,  as  well  as  a most  delightful  and  rational 
means  of  intellectual  recreation  ? The  parent  of  innumerable  su- 
perstitions, and  of  all  heresies  ever  in  the  churches  the  mos't  injuri- 
ous to  true  religion,  is  the  belief  that  self-denial  is  in  itself  a virtue, 
— that  Simeon  Stylites,  “ from  scalp  to  sole  one  slough  and  crust  of 
sin,”  deserved  canonization  for  withdrawing  from  the  pleasant  path- 
ways of  the  world  to  “ chatter  with  the  cold,”  and  “ drown  the 
whoopings  of  the  owl  with  sound  of  pious  hymns  and  psalms,”  upon 
his  column.  Undoubtedly  we  are  never  to  consider  our  ease  or 
the  satisfaction  of  our  natural  desires  a moment  in  comparison  with 
the  love  and  obedience  we  owe  to  God,  or  the  affectionate  justice 
due  to  our  fellow-men,  or  any  exhibition  of  the  attractive  beauty 
of  holiness ; but  the  Creator  and  all  his  works  continually  urge 
us  to  enjoy,  all  that  is  enjoyable  in  innocence,  and  denounce  every 
avoidance  or  interdiction  of  reasonable  happiness  as  crime.  No 
means  of  pleasure  has  ever  been  devised  more  dignified  and  worthy 
of  a fine  intelligence,  than  that  of  the  fit  exhibition  on  the  stage 
of  the  noblest  and  most  universally  appreciable  productions  of 
genius ; and  it  is  a valuable  portion  of  the  faultless  example*  of 
Washington,  which  displays  his  approval  of  such  exercise  of  our 

* The  President  not  only  attended  the  theatre  in  John  street,  but  he  had  “ private  theatricals” 
in  his  own  house.  President  Duer  says,  “ I was  not  only  frequently  admitted  to  the  presence  of 
this  most  august  of  men,  in  propria  persona,  but  once  had  the  honor  of  appearing  before  him  as 
one  of  the  dramatis personce  in  the  tragedy  of  Julius  Csesar,  enacted  by  a young  ‘American  Com- 
pany/ (the  theatrical  corps  then  performing  in  New  York  being  called  the  ‘ Old  American  Com- 
pany,’) in  the  garret  of  the  Presidential  mansion,  where,  before  the  magnates  of  the  land  and  the 
elite  of  the  city,  I performed  the  part  of  Brutus  to  the  Cassius  of  my  old  schoolfellow,  Washing- 
ton Custis,  who  still  survives  in  the  enjoyment  of  health,  wealth,  and  the  fame  of  his  family 
alliance,  with  any  thing  but  the  ‘lean  and  hungry  look’  attributed  t/>  his  fictitious  character.” 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


213 


capacities  for  art.  A certain  bishop  of  Worcester,  declaring  that 
be  bad  greater  delight  in  Bacon  than  in  Shakspeare,  was  compli- 
mented  on  bis  addiction  to  philosophy,  but  confessed  that  the  ba- 
con he  referred  to  was  of  no  abstruse  sort,  and  was  purchasable  by 
the  flitch  rather  than  by  the  folio ; and  there  were  in  the  days  of 
Washington  not  a few  clergymen  boastful  of  excellent  cooks,  or 
ever  ready  to  dine  with  approved  epicures,  to  whose  diseased  per- 
ceptions that  high  feeding  of  the  mind  provided  by  the  histrions 
was  a soul-destroying  poison ; nor  is  it  impossible  — so  inconsistent 
is  human  nature  — that  there  were  bishops  too,  in  the  same  period, 
whose  distinction  it  was  that  they  were  more  skilful  than  the  best 
instructed  laymen  in  the  composition  of  punches,  while  they  would 
not  have  wandered  with  Thalia  or  Melpomene  by  Helicon  even  to 
have  secured  a monopoly  of  its  inspiring  waters. 

The  subject  of  licensing  theatres  had  been  before  the  legisla- 
ture of  Pennsylvania  in  1785,  and  Kobert  Morris  and  General  An- 
thony W ayne  had  successfully  advocated  their  toleration.  A theatre 
was  opened  in  Philadelphia,  and  another  soon  after  in  New  York, 
at  which,  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth  of  April,  1786,  was  performed 
Boyal  Tyler’s  comedy,  in  five  acts,  called  “ The  Contrast  ” — the 
first  American  play  ever  brought  out  by  a company  of  regular 
comedians.  Henry,*  Hallam,  and  Wignell,  were  the  popular  actors 
of  that  time,  and  they  appear  to  have  possessed  decided  and  vari- 
ous abilities  for  their  profession.  On  the  seventh  of  September, 
1789,  the  second  native  comedy,  “The  Father,  or  American  Shan- 

* Henry  was  the  only  actor  in  America  who  kept  a carriage.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a coach, 
but  very  small — large  enough  only  to  carry  himself  and  his  wife  to  the  theatre.  It  was  drawn 
by  one  horse,  and  driven  by  a black  boy.  Aware  of  the  jealousy  toward  players,  and  that  it 
would  be  said  “ He  keeps  a coach,”  he  had  caused  to  be  painted  on  the  doors,  as  coats  of  arms 
are  painted,  two  crutches,  in  heraldic  fashion,  with  the  legend,  “ This  or  these."  He  suffered 
much  from  gout,  and  it  is  remembered  that  he  said,  “ I put  this  marked  motto  and  device  on  my 
carriage  to  prevent  any  impertinent  observations  on  an  actor  keeping  his  coach : the  wits  would 
have  taken  care  to  forget  that  the  actor  could  not  walk.” 


214 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


dyism,”  was  produced  at  tlie  John  street  house  with  considerable 
success.  It  was  written  by  William  Dunlap,  who  for  two  or  three 
years  had  painted  portraits,  for  very  moderate  prices,  at  number 
thirteen  Queen  street.  A contemporary  critic  observes  that  “ sen- 
timent, wit,  and  comic  humor,  are  happily  blended  in  this  ingenious 
performance,  nor  is  that  due  proportion  of  the  pathetic,  which  inter- 
ests the  finest  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  omitted.  The  happy 
allusions  to  characters  and  events  in  which  every  friend  of  our 
country  feels  interested,  and  those  traits  of  benevolence  which  are 
brought  to  view  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  conspired 
to  engage,  amuse,  delight,  and  instruct,  through  five  acts  of  alter- 
nate anticipations  and  agreeable  surprises.”  The  reception  of  this 
piece  encouraged  Dunlap  to  further  efforts,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  November  his  “Darby’s  Return”  was  acted,  before  a 
very  crowded  house,  to  its  “fullest  satisfaction.”  When  Washing- 
ton came  in,  on  this,  as  on  other  occasions,  the  audience  rose  and 
received  him  with  the  warmest  acclamations. 

IV. 

The  winter  of  1789-90  was  warmer  than  any  which  the  oldest 
inhabitants  could  remember.  In  the  last  week  of  December  and 
the  first  of  January  gardeners  and  farmers  on  the  island  of  Man- 
hattan were  ploughing,  and  women  appeared  in  the  streets  of  the 
city  in  their  summer  dresses.  The  pleasant  custom  of  making  New 
Year’s  calls  had  long  obtained  in  most  of  the  countries  of  conti- 
nental Europe,  and  it  was  brought  to  New  York  by  both  the  Dutch 
and  the  Huguenots,  who  had  preserved  it  as  one  of  their  peculiar 
institutions,  which  never  could  be  naturalized  in  towns  of  a more 
purely  English  origin  and  population.  On  Friday,  the  first  of  Jan- 
uary, 1790,  we  are  informed  by  the  late  venerable  Mr.  John  Pin- 
tard,  who  was  then  a young  man  of  fashion,  and  a close  observer, 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


215 


the  President  was  waited  upon  by  the  principal  gentlemen  of  the 
metropolis.  The  day  was  uncommonly  mild  and  agreeable,  even 
for  that  year  of  perpetual  verdure,  and  the  great  festival  of  friend- 
ship was  never  kept  more  universally  or  with  a livelier  gratification. 
The  visitors  of  the  President,  after  an  interchange  of  the  usual 
salutations  of  the  day,  withdrew,  delighted  at  his  gracious  manner. 
It  is  not  known,  though  Mr.  Pmtard  assures  us  that  a majority  of 
them  were  personally  unacquainted  with  him,  that  there  were  any 
to  complain  of  such  a stately  bearing  as  about  this  time  alarmed  a 
sagacious  colonel  from  Virginia  for  the  safety  of  the  republic.  This 
colonel  had  travelled,  and  after  attending  one  of  the  receptions  of 
the  President,  he  declared,  at  the  table  of  Governor  Beverly  Ran- 
dolph, in  Richmond,  that  “ his  bows  were  more  distant  and  stiff” 
than  any  he  had  seen  at  St.  James’s ! A correspondent  informed 
Washington  of  the  fearful  apprehensions  thus  awakened,  and  he 
replied,  “ That  I have  not  been  able  to  make  bows  to  the  taste  of 

poor  Colonel  B , who,  by  the  way,  I believe  never  saw  but  one 

of  them,  is  to  be  regretted ; especially  as,  upon  those  occasions, 
they  were  indiscriminately  bestowed,  and  the  best  I was  master  of. 
Would  it  not  have  been  better  to  throw  the  veil  of  charity  over 
them,  ascribing  their  stiffness  to  the  effects  of  age,  or  to  the  unskil- 
fulness of  my  teacher,  rather  than  to  pride  and  dignity  of  office  ? ” 
Mrs.  Washington  held  her  levee,  as  on  other  Friday  evenings, 
but  on  no  previous  occasion  had  one  been  graced  with  so  much 
respectability  and  elegance.  The  air  was  almost  as  gentle  as  it 
should  be  in  May,  and  the  full  moon  shone  so  brightly  that  the 
streets  to  a late  hour  were  filled  with  a delicious  twilight.  It  was 
not  the  custom  for  visitors  of  the  President  to  sit,  but  it  appears 
from  Mr.  Pintard’s  diary  that,  on  this  night  at  least,  there  were 
chairs  in  the  rooms  where  Mrs.  Washington  saw  her  guests,  for 
“ after  they  were  seated,”  tea  and  coffee,  and  plum  and  plain  cake, 


( 


216  THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 

were  dispensed  by  tbe  attending  servants.  She  remarked,  while 
speaking  of  the  day’s  occurrences,  that  none  of  them  had  so  pleased 
the  General  (by  which  title  she  always  designated  her  husband)  as 
the  friendly  greetings  of  the  gentlemen  who  called  upon  him  at  noon. 
To  an  inquiry,  by  the  President,  whether  such  observances  were 
casual  or  customary,  it  was  answered,  that  New  Year’s  visiting  had 
always  been  maintained  in  the  city.  He  paused  a moment,  and 
then  observed,  “ The  highly  favored  situation  of  New  York  will, 
in  the  process  of  years,  attract  numerous  emigrants,  who  will  gra- 
dually change  its  ancient  customs  and  manners ; but,  whatever 
changes  take  place,  never  forget  the  cordial  and  cheerful  observance 
of  New  Year’s  day.”  Mrs.  Washington  had  stood  by  his  side  as 
the  visitors  arrived  and  were  presented,  and  when  the  clock  in  the 
hall  was  heard  striking  nine,  she  advanced  and  with  a complacent 
smile  said,  “ The  General  always  retires  at  nine,  and  I usually  pre- 
cede him  ; ” upon  which  all  arose,  made  their  parting  salutations, 
and  withdrew. 

V. 

The  members  came  together  very  slowly  for  the  second  session 
of  Congress,  which  was  to  have  been  opened  on  the  fourth  of  Jan- 
uary, but  a quorum  not  being  then  present,  such  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives as  were  in  town  met  every  day  and  adjourned,  until  the 
eighth,  when,  a sufficient  number  having  arrived  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  the  President  came  to  Federal  Hall,  in  his  chariot,  with 
six  horses,  and,  proceeding  to  the  Senate  chamber,  was  conducted 
by  the  Vice  President  to  his  chair,  and  delivered  his  speech,  of 
which  printed  copies  were  immediately  afterward  laid  upon  the 
several  desks  in  both  Houses.  It  was  the  practice  of  Washington 
to  communicate  with  Congress  only  by  written  messages,  except  at 
the  commencement  of  each  session,  when  he  met  in  person  both 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


217 


branches  in  joint  assembly.  He  was  dressed  on  this  occasion  in  a 
complete  suit  of  fine  cloth,  manufactured  in  Hartford,  “of  that 
beautiful  changeable  hue  called  crow  color,  which  is  remarked  in 
shades  not  quite  black.”  After  congratulating  Congress  on  the 
auspicious  appearance  of  public  affairs,  the  recent  acceptance  of  the 
Constitution  by  the  state  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  general  and 
increasing  goodwill  manifested  toward  the  government,  he  proceed- 
ed to  recommend  such  measures  as  he  deemed  most  essential  for 
the  public  interests,  and  dwelt  with  particular  emphasis  upon  the 
consideration  that  nothing  was  more  deserving  of  the  patronage  of 
a free  people  than  literature  and  institutions  of  learning. 

A large  number  of  public  dinners  are  mentioned  as  having  been 
given  in  New  York  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1790,  and  many 
of  the  discussions  of  politics  and  affairs  which  occurred  out  of  Con- 
gress were  at  the  tables  of  the  leading  public  characters.  The 
President  continued  his  Wednesday  dinner  parties  to  members  of 
Congress,  ambassadors,  and  other  eminent  persons,  and  frequently 
invited  the  secretaries  to  debate  cabinet  questions  “ over  a bottle 
of  wine.”  On  the  sixth  of  February,  the  anniversary  of  the  alli- 
ance between  France  and  the  United  States,  the  charge  d'affaires 
of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty,  entertained  at  his  house  the  Vice 
President,  the  heads  of  departments,  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  Chief  Justice  Jay,  Governor  Clinton, 
Chancellor  Livingston,  and  the  diplomatic  body  and  other  foreigners 
of  distinction. 

The  birthday  of  the  President  was  this  year  celebrated  with 
enthusiasm  in  Boston,  Salem,  Charleston,  Richmond,  Alexandria, 
Philadelphia,  Trenton,  and  most  of  the  large  towns  throughout  the 
United  States.  In  New  York,  the  Tammany  Society  or  Columbian 
Order,  then  recently  instituted  “ on  the  true  principles  of  patriot- 

sm,  and  having  for  its  motives  charity  and  brotherly  love,”  held  a 

28 


218 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


meeting  at  tlieir  wigwam,  and  resolved  that  for  ever  after  it  would 
“commemorate  the  birthday  of  the  illustrious  George  Washing- 
ton.” 

VI. 

Me.  Jefeerson,  after  a very  pleasant  passage,  arrived  at  Norfolk 
from  France  on  the  twenty-third  of  November,  and  proceeded  soon 
after  to  Monticello.  His  wife  had  been  dead  many  years,  but  his 
two  daughters,  whom  he  had  educated  very  carefully  in  their  native 
country  and  in  Europe,  were  now  grown  to  womanhood,  and  the 
eldest  * of  them  had  been  awaiting  his  return  to  be  married  to  Mr. 

* Martha  Jefferson  was  born  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  September,  1772,  and  was  therefore 
now  a little  more  than  seventeen  years  of  age.  John  Randolph  said  she  was  “ the  sweetest  young 
creature  in  Virginia;”  Mrs.  Adams,  to  whose  care  she  had  been  intrusted  some  time  in  Paris,  re- 
fers to  her  with  the  most  affectionate  expressions ; and  Mrs.  Smith,  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Adams, 
says,  “ delicacy  and  sensibility  are  read  in  her  every  feature,  and  her  manners  are  in  unison  with 
all  that  is  amiable  and  lovely.”  While  Miss  Jefferson,  in  1783,  was  at  school  in  Philadelphia, 
boarding  with  Mrs.  Trist,  (grandmother  of  Mr.  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  who  is  now  the  husband  of  the 
grand-daughter  of  Mr.  Jefferson,)  her  father  addressed  to  her  the  following  letter,  which  has  never 
hitherto  been  published,  and  is  very  interesting  as  an  illustration  of  his  domestic  character  and 
his  views  of  the  education  of  women:  “ Annapolis,  November  28,  1783.  My  dear  Patsy:  After 
four  days’  journey,  I arrived  here  without  any  accident,  and  in  as  good  health  as  when  I left 
Philadelphia.  The  conviction  that  you  would  be  more  improved  in  the  situation  where  I have 
placed  you  than  if  still  with  me,  has  solaced  me  on  my  parting  with  you,  which  my  love  for  you 
has  rendered  a difficult  thing.  The  acquirements  which  I hope  you  will  make  under  the  tutors 
I have  provided  for  you,  will  render  you  more  worthy  of  my  love ; and  if  they  cannot  increase 
it,  they  will  prevent  its  diminution.  Consider  the  good  lady  who  has  taken  you  under  her  roof, 
who  has  undertaken  to  see  that  you  perform  all  your  exercises,  and  to  admonish  you  in  all  those 
wanderings  from  what  is  right,  or  what  is  clever,  to  which  your  inexperience  would  expose  you, — 
consider  her,  I say,  as  your  mother,  as  the  only  person  to  whom,  since  the  loss  with  which  Heaven 
has  been  pleased  to  afflict  you,  you  can  now  look  up ; and  that  her  displeasure  or  disapprobation, 
on  any  occasion,  will  be  an  immense  misfortune,  which,  should  you  be  so  unhappy  as  to  incur  by 
any  unguarded  act,  think  no  concession  too  much  to  regain  her  good  will.  With  respect  to  the 
distribution  of  your  time,  the  following  is  what  I should  approve : From  8 to  10,  practise  music. 
From  10  to  1,  dance  one  day  and  draw  another.  From  1 to  2,  draw  on  the  day  you  dance  and 
write  a letter  next  day.  From  3 to  4,  read  French.  From  4 to  5,  exercise  yourself  in  music. 
From  5 till  bed-time  read  English,  write,  &e.  Communicate  this  plan  to  Mrs.  Hopkinson ; and, 
if  she  approves  of  it,  pursue  it.  As  long  as  Mrs.  Trist  remains  in  Philadelphia,  cultivate  her 
affections.  She  has  been  a valuable  friend  to  you,  and  her  good  sense  and  good  heart  make  her 
valued  by  all  who  know  her,  and  by  nobody  on  earth  more  than  me.  I expect  you  will  write  to 
me  by  every  post.  Inform  me  what  books  you  read,  what  tunes  you  learn,  and  inclose  me  your 
best  copy  of  every  lesson  in  drawing.  Write  also  one  letter  every  week,  either  to  your  Aunt 


tiBfZARy 
JF  IHI 

^ 0f  «Utas 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


21S 


Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  whom  he  describes  as  “ a 
young  gentleman  of  genius,  science,  and  honorable  mind,  who  af- 
terward filled  a dignified  station  in  the  general  government,  and 
the  most  dignified  in  his  own  state”  On  the  first  of  March,  he 
left  home  for  the  seat  of  government,  to  asume  his  duties  as  Secre- 
tary of  State.  In  Philadelphia,  he  writes  to  Madame  la  Comtesse 
d’Houdetot,  “ I found  our  friend  Dr.  Franklin  in  his  bed  — cheerful, 
and  free  from  pain,  but  still,  in  his  bed.  He  took  a lively  interest 
in  the  details  I gave  him  of  your  revolution.  I observed  his  face 
often  flushed  in  the  course  of  it.  He  is  much  emaciated.”  It  was  in 
this  interview  that  Franklin  confided  to  him  the  manuscript,  now 
lost,  of  one  of  the  most  important  portions  of  his  personal  memoirs. 

The  fine  weather  of  December  and  J anuary  had  been  succeeded 
in  the  later  winter  by  rains  and  blustery  snows,  and  Mr.  Jefferson 
had  an  extremely  tedious  and  disagreeable  passage  to  New  York, 
which  he  described  the  week  after  its  conclusion  in  a letter  to  his 
son-in-law.  “ I arrived  here,”  he  says,  “ on  the  twenty-first  instant, 
after  as  laborious  a journey,  of  a fortnight,  from  Richmond,  as  I 
ever  went  through — resting  only  one  day  at  Alexandria,  and  an- 
other at  Baltimore.  I found  my  carriage  and  horses  at  Alexandria ; 
but  a snow  of  eighteen  inches  deep  falling  the  same  night,  I saw 
the  impossibility  of  getting  on  in  my  own  carriage : so  left  it  there, 
to  be  sent  to  me  by  water,  and  had  my  horses  led  on  to  this  place, 


Eppes,  your  Aunt  Skipwith,  your  Aunt  Carr,  or  the  little  lady  from  whom  I now  enclose  a letter, 
and  always  put  the  letter  you  so  write  under  coyer  to  me.  Take  care  that  you  never  spell  a 
word  wrong.  Always,  before  you  write  a word,  consider  how  it  is  spelt,  and,  if  you  do  not  re- 
member it,  turn  to  a dictionary.  It  produces  great  praise  to  a lady  to  spell  well.  I have  placed 
my  happiness  on  seeing  you  good  and  accomplished ; and  no  distress  which  this  world  can  now 
bring  on  me  would  equal  that  of  your  disappointing  my  hopes.  If  you  love  me  then,  strive  to 
be  good  under  every  situation,  and  to  all  living  creatures,  and  to  acquire  those  accomplishments 
which  I have  put  in  your  power,  and  which  will  go  far  towards  ensuring  you  the  warmest  love 
of  your  affectionate  father.  Th.  Jefferson. 

“ P.  S.  Keep  my  letters  and  read  them  at  times,  that  you  may  always  have  present  in  your 
nind  those  things  which  will  endear  you  to  me.” 


220 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


taking  my  passage  in  the  stage,  though  relieving  myself  a little 
sometimes  by  mounting  my  horse.  The  roads,  through  the  whole 
way,  were  so  bad  that  we  could  never  go  more  than  three  miles  an 
hour,  sometimes  not  more  than  two,  and  in  the  night  but  one.  My 
first  object  was  to  look  out  a house,  in  the  Broadway,  if  possible, 
as  being  in  the  centre  of  my  business.  Finding  none  there  vacant, 
for  the  present,  I have  taken  a small  one  in  Maiden  lane,  which  may 
give  me  time  to  look  about  me.  Much  business  had  been  put  by 
for  my  arrival,  so  that  I found  myself  all  at  once  involved  under 
an  accumulation  of  it.  When  this  shall  be  got  through  I will  be 
able  to  judge  whether  the  ordinary  business  of  my  department  will 
leave  me  any  leisure.  I fear  there  will  be  little.” 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  not  well  pleased  with  the  tone  of  political 
society;  in  his  famous  “Anas”  he  says,  “I  found  a state  of  things 
which  of  all  I had  ever  contemplated  I then  least  expected.  I had 
left  France  in  the  first  year  of  her  revolution,  in  the  fervor  of  natu- 
ral rights  and  zeal  for  reformation.  My  conscientious  devotion  to 
these  rights  could  not  be  heightened,  but  it  had  been  roused  and 
excited  by  daily  exercise.  The  President  received  me  cordially, 
and  my  colleagues  and  the  circle  of  principal  citizens,  apparently 
with  welcome.  The  courtesies  of  dinner  parties,  given  me  as  a 
stranger  newly  arrived  among  them,  placed  me  at  once  in  their 
familiar  society.  But  I cannot  describe  the  wonder  with  which 
their  table  conversations  filled  me.  Politics  were  then  chief  topic, 
and  a preference  of  kingly  over  republican  government  was  evi- 
dently the  favorite  sentiment.  An  apostate  I could  not  be,  nor  yet 
a hypocrite,  and  I found  myself,  for  the  most  part,  the  only  advo- 
cate on  the  republican  side  of  the  question,  unless  among  the  guests 
there  chanced  to  be  some  member  of  that  party  from  the  legisla- 
tive houses.”  He  says  much  more  in  the  same  vein,  and  its  value 
may  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  shown  respecting  his  account 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


221 


of  the  inauguration  ball.  There  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  except 
Mr.  Jefferson’s  assertions  that  there  was  a single  person  in  the  city 
at  that  period,  except  foreign  residents,  who  were  any  less  partial 
to  republicanism  than  himself ; certainly  General  Washington,  Gem 
eral  Knox,  Colonel  Hamilton,  Mr.  Adams,  and  Mr.  Jay,  with  whom 
his  official  relations  brought  him  into  the  most  frequent  intercourse, 
never,  on  any  occasion  whatever,  breathed  or  wrote  a syllable  to 
authorize  an  imputation  against  them  or  any  of  them  of  a predilec- 
tion for  kingly  or  aristocratical  institutions. 

VII. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  April  Benjamin  Franklin  died  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  though  the  event  had  been  expected  for  many  months, 
it  produced  a profound  sensation  throughout  the  country.*  This 

* A contemporary  journal  thus  announces  the  death  of  the  philosopher  and  the  circumstances 
of  his  funeral : “ On  the  seventeenth  of  April  departed  this  life,  at  Philadelphia,  the  venerable 
and  celebrated  philosopher  and  patriot,  Benjamin  Franklin,  LL.D.,  aged  eighty-five  years.  His 
final  sickness  lasted  fifteen  days.  He  was  interred  with  every  mark  of  esteem  and  veneration. 
The  following  was  the  order  of  procession : 

All  the  Clergy  of  the  City,  before  the  Corpse. 

The  Corpse,  carried  by  Citizens. 

The  Pall,  supported  by  the  President  of  the  State,  the  Chief  Justice,  the  President  of 
the  Bank,  Samuel  Powell,  William  Bingham,  and  David  Ritteuhouse,  Esqs. 

Mourners,  consisting  of  the  family  of  the  deceased,  with  a number  of  particular  friends. 

The  Secretary  and  Members  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council. 

The  Speaker  and  members  of  the  General  Assembly. 

Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  other  Officers  of  the  Government 
The  Gentlemen  of  the  Bar. 

The  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

The  Printers  of  the  City,  with  their  Journeymen  and  Apprentices. 

The  Philosophical  Society. 

The  College  of  Physicians. 

The  Cincinnati. 

The  College  of  Philadelphia,  and  sundry  other  Societies. 

“ The  concourse  of  spectators  was  greater  than  ever  was  known  on  a like  occasion.  It  is 
computed  that  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  persons  attended  the  funeral.  The  order  and 
silence  which  prevailed  during  the  procession  deeply  evinced  the  heartfelt  sense  entertained  by 
all  classes  of  citizens  of  the  unparalleled  virtues,  talents,  and  services  of  the  deceased.” 


222 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


illustrious  man  was  admired  and  revered  next  to  Washington,  and 
only  for  the  death  of  Washington  could  there  have  been  a more 
pervading  sorrow.  A few  days  after  the  intelligence  reached  New 
York  a resolution  was  moved  by  Mr.  Madison,  and  unanimously 
adopted,  that  “ being  informed  of  the  decease  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, a citizen  whose  native  genius  was  not  more  an  ornament  to 
human  nature  than  his  various  exertions  of  it  have  been  precious 
to  science,  to  freedom,  and  to  his  country as  a mark  of  venera- 

tion due  to  his  memory,  the  members  wear  the  customary  badge 
of  mourning  for  one  month.”  The  Executive  Council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania passed  a similar  resolution ; the  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety appointed  one  of  their  number,  the  Reverend  Dr.  William 
Smith,  to  pronounce  a discourse  commemorative  of  his  character ; 
an  homage  of  the  same  kind  was  offered  in  a Latin  oration  by  the 
Reverend  Dr.  Stiles,  at  Yale  College ; and  the  societies  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati in  the  several  states,  the  Tammany  Society  in  New  York, 
and  other  public  bodies,  also  wore  insignia  of  mourning. 

In  France  the  honors  paid  to  his  memory  were  not  less  remark- 
able. When  the  news  reached  Paris,  Mirabeau  ascended  the  tri- 
bune and  before  a silent  and  sympathetic  audience  said,  “ Frank- 
lin is  dead  ! Returned  into  the  bosom  of  the  divinity  is  that  gen- 
ius which  freed  America,  and  rayed  forth  upon  Europe  torrents  of 
light.  The  sage  whom  the  two  worlds  alike  claim — the  man  for 
whom  the  history  of  science  and  the  history  of  empires  are  disput- 
ing — held,  beyond  doubt,  an  elevated  rank  in  the  human  species. 
For  long  enough  have  political  cabinets  noticed  the  deaths  of  those 
who  were  only  great  in  their  funeral  orations;  for  long  enough 
has  court-etiquette  proclaimed  hypocritical  mourning.  Nations 
should  only  wear  mourning  for  their  benefactors.  The  representa- 
tives of  nations  ought  only  to  recommend  to  then*  homage  the 
heroes  of  humanity.  The  Congress  has  ordained,  in  the  thirteen 


EIGHTY- NINE  AND  NINETY. 


223 


states  of  the  confederation,  a mourning  of  two  months  for  the  de- 
cease of  Franklin ; and  America  is  acquitting,  at  this  very  moment, 
that  tribute  of  veneration  for  one  of  the  fathers  of  her  constitu- 
tion. Would  it  not  be  worthy  of  us,  gentlemen,  to  join  in  that  re- 
ligious act;  to  participate  in  that  homage,  rendered,  before  the 
face  of  the  universe,  both  to  the  rights  of  man  and  to  the  philoso- 
pher who  has  the  most  contributed  to  extend  their  acknowledg- 
ment over  all  the  world  ? Antiquity  would  have  raised  altars  to 
that  vast  and  powerful  genius,  who,  for  the  advantage  of  mortals, 
embracing  in  his  aspirations  heaven  and  the  earth,  knew  how  to  tame 
tyrants  and  their  thunderbolts.  France,  enlightened  and  free,  owes 
at  the  least  an  expression  of  remembrance  and  regret  for  one  of 
the  greatest  men  who  have  ever  aided  philosophy  and  liberty. 
I propose  that  it  be  decreed  that  the  National  Assembly  wear 
mourning  during  three  days  for  Benjamin  Franklin.”  Lafayette 
and  Bochefoucauld  seconded  the  motion ; it  was  adopted  by  accla- 
mation ; and  the  Assembly  afterwards  decreed  that  they  would  go 
into  mourning  for  three  days.  The  Abbe  Sieyes,  as  President  of 
the  Assembly,  addressed  a letter  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  on  the  loss  which  the  human  race  had  sustained  in  the  death 
of  this  apostle  of  freedom  and  philosophy : the  Abbe  Fauchet  pro- 
nounced an  eulogy  upon  his  life  and  genius  in  the  presence  of  the 
Commune  of  Paris ; Condorcet  celebrated  his  virtues  in  an  oration 
before  the  Academy  of  Sciences ; and  every  where  throughout  the 
kingdom  there  were  demonstrations  of  reverence  for  his  character 
and  regret  for  his  death. 

VIII. 

The  most  famous  and  troublesome  leaders  of  the  Indians,  during 
Washington’s  administration,  were  Brant,  or  Thayendanegea,  chief 
of  the  six  nations,  and  Alexander  McGillivray,  a compound  of 


224 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Creek  and  Scotch,  who  became  the  head  man  of  a powerful  confed- 
eracy on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia.  They  were  both  persons  of 
considerable  education,  and  familiar  with  the  habits  and  warlike 
customs  of  civilized  society.  McGillivray,  after  studying  Latin  at 
Charleston,  had  been  placed  in  a counting-house,  but  though  shrewd 
and  not  without  a spirit  of  enterprise  he  had  evinced  a greater 
fondness  for  books  than  for  mercantile  affairs.  His  father,  a suc- 
cessful Indian  trader,  had  acquired  large  possessions  in  Georgia, 
but  for  his  opposition  to  the  revolution  they  had  been  confiscated 
and  he  himself  banished,  leaving  the  young  Indian  with  little  pro- 
perty and  no  attachment  to  the  Anglo-Americans.  Taking  refuge 
with  the  Creeks,  his  abilities  and  knowledge  soon  enabled  him  to  win 
influence  and  distinction,  and  for  several  years  he  carried  on  a for- 
midable war  against  the  Georgians,  in  which  he  was  supported  by 
the  Spaniards  of  Florida.  In  the  summer  of  1Y89  Washington 
had  appointed  General  Lincoln,  Colonel  Humphreys,  and  David 
Griffin,  commissioners  to  treat  for  a settlement  of  the  difficulties 
with  the  Creek  confederacy,  but  they  were  unsuccessful,  and  Colo- 
nel Marinus  Willett  had  been  sent  on  a second  mission,  which  re- 
sulted in  his  persuading  McGillivray,  with  twenty-eight  principal 
chiefs  and  warriors  of  his  nation,  to  proceed  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, where  negotiations  might  be  carried  on  with  less  liability  to 
interruption  or  influence  from  local  interests.  The  party  was  cor- 
dially and  ceremoniously  received  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  Hew 
York,  where  they  arrived  on  the  twenty-first  of  July,  and  remained 
several  weeks,  attracting  even  more  attention  than  was  given  to 
Black  Hawk  nearly  half  a century  afterward.  Arrayed  in  their 
Indian  dresses,  the  Tammany  Society  escorted  them  into  the  city, 
and  on  the  second  of  August  entertained  them  at  a public  dinner, 
at  which  the  Tammany  sachems  sung  songs,  the  Creek  sachems 
danced,  and  toasts  were  drank,  and  the  orators  of  both  sides  made 


* 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


225 


speeches.  General  Knox,  Governor  Clinton,  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Jay, 
and  many  other  public  characters  were  among  the  guests.  The  In- 
dians were  present  also  at  a grand  review  of  uniformed  militia,  by 
the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  grounds  of  Colonel 
Rutgers.  A treaty  having  been  concluded,  by  the  Secretary  of 
War,  it  was  ratified  in  Federal  Hall  on  the  thirteenth  of  August, 
in  the  presence  of  a large  assembly,  including  the  principal  officers 
of  the  administration,  members  of  Congress,  and  other  distinguished 
citizens.  The  President,  with  his  suite,  met  the  Creek  chiefs  at 
twelve  o’clock,  and,  the  treaty  having  been  read  and  interpreted, 
addressed  them  in  a speech  in  which  its  several  provisions  were  ex- 
plained, and  received  from  each  an  audible  and  emphatic  assent  to 
them.  He  then  signed  the  treaty,  and  delivered  a string  of  wam- 
pum, as  a memorial  of  amity,  and  a paper  of  tobacco,  to  smoke  in 
commemoration  of  it,  to  McGillivray,  who  made  a short  acknow- 
ledgment, after  which  there  was  a general  shaking  of  hands,  and 
in  conclusion  the  chiefs  and  warriors  simg  a song  of  peace. 

Colonel  Trumbull,  who  had  returned  from  Europe  to  obtain  sub- 
scribers for  the  engravings  from  his  celebrated  series  of  pictures 
illustrative  of  the  revolution,  had  just  completed  for  the  corporation 
the  large  full  length  portrait  of  the  President  which  now  graces 
the  City  Hall.  Washington  was  curious  to  see  the  effect  it  would 
produce  on  the  minds  of  the  savages,  and  therefore  directed  Trum- 
bull to  place  it  in  an  advantageous  light,  facing  the  entrance  of  the 
painting  room,  and,  having  entertained  several  of  the  principal 
chiefs  at  dinner,  he  invited  them  to  walk  with  him,  and  led  them 
suddenly  into  the  presence  of  his  counterfeit.  As  the  door  was 
opened  they  were  startled  at  seeing  another  “ Great  Father,”  stand- 
ing within,  and  for  a time  were  mute  with  astonishment.  At  length 
one  of  the  chiefs  advanced  toward  the  picture,  slowly  reached  out 

his  hand  and  touched  it,  and  was  still  more  astounded  to  feel  but 
29 


226 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


a cold  flat  surface  instead  of  the  warm  round  figure  it  had  seemed 
He  exclaimed  “ Ugh  ! ” and  each  of  the  party  with  a grave  surprise 
not  unmixed  with  fear  carefully  repeated  his  examination.  Trumbull 
had  been  anxious  to  obtain  portraits  of  some  of  these  chiefs,  whom 
he  describes  as  possessed  of  a dignity  of  manner,  form,  countenance, 
and  expression,  worthy  of  Roman  senators ; but  after  this  he  found 
it  impossible ; they  were  suspicious  that  there  was  magic  in  an  art 
which  could  impart  to  a piece  of  canvas  the  appearance  of  a great 
soldier,  dressed  for  battle,  and  standing  beside  his  war-horse. 

Since  the  inauguration  of  the  new  government  the  business  of 
New  York  had  largely  increased,  and  the  erection  of  many  hand- 
some public  and  private  edifices  had  added  much  to  the  attractive 
appearance  of  the  city.  Trinity  Church,  completed  in  1737,  had 
been  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  September,  1776,  and  a new 
one  — that  which  a few  years  ago  gave  place  to  the  present  beau- 
tiful structure  — was  now  finished,  and  on  the  last  Thursday  in 
March  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Provoost,  in  the  presence  of 
Washington,  the  members  of  the  cabinet  and  other  eminent  pub- 
lic men,  the  resident  clergy  of  different  denominations,  and  an  un- 
usually large  assemblage  of  fashion  and  beauty.  The  vestry  ap- 
propriated a richly-ornamented  pew,  with  a canopy  over  it,  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  other  pews  were  assigned  to 
the  Governor  of  the  state  and  the  members  of  Congress.  A curi- 
ous event  occurred  at  this  church  a short  time  before  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress,  in  August.  The  Reverend  Benjamin  Blagrove, 
of  St.  Peter’s  Parish,  New  Kent,  Virginia,  was  permitted  to  give  a 
public  concert  there.  He  sung  two  long  pieces  of  sacred  music,  ac- 
companying himself  on  the  organ,  and  his  great  reputation  as  a 
vocalist  secured  a full  house. 

An  extraordinary  absurdity  was  committed  by  the  mayor  and 
corporation,  in  the  spring  of  1790,  which  materially  lessened  the 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


227 


beauty  of  the  city,  and  gave  rise  to  many  indignant  displays  of 
feeling  on  the  part  of  newspaper  poets  and  public  meetings ; New 
York  was  liberally  ornamented  with  trees,  and  great  pains  had 
been  taken  to  plant  them  in  a rich  variety  along  the  principal 
streets ; but  the  authorities,  doubtless  for  some  supposed  necessity 
connected  with  the  public  health  — as  Dr.  Samuel  Latham  Mitchell, 
about  this  time  described  as  “ a buckish  young  oracle,  half  dandy 
and  half  philosopher,”  was  accused  at  a dinner  party  at  Fraunces’s 
tavern  of  having  too  much  to  do  with  the  business  — ordered  them 
all  to  be  cut  down  before  the  first  of  June. 

IX. 

Dueikg  his  New  England  tom’,  in  1789,  the  President  did  not 
pass  through  Rhode  Island,  as  that  state  had  not  yet  accepted  the 
Constitution ; but  on  Saturday,  the  fourteenth  of  August,  he  sailed 
for  Newport,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  Governor  Clinton, 
Judge  Blair,  Mr.  Foster,  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Gilman, 
of  New  Hampshire,  Colonel  Humphreys,  Major  Jackson,  and  Mr. 
Nelson.  He  arrived  at  Newport  the  following  Tuesday  morning, 
and  was  welcomed  by  a salute  of  thirteen  guns  when  the  packet 
passed  Fort  Washington,  thirteen  more  from  the  same  quarter  on 
his  landing,  and  a like  number  from  the  shipping  in  the  harbor. 
The  citizens  received  their  distinguished  guest  with  every  suitable 
mark  of  respect,  and  in  procession  escorted  him  to  his  lodgings. 
At  four  o’clock  a committee  of  the  town  authorities  waited  on  him 
to  the  State  House,  where  he  partook  of  an  elegant  dinner,  after 
which  the  federal  complement  of  toasts  was  given,  to  the  first 
of  which  he  responded,  “ The  state  we  are  in,  and  prosperity  to 
it!”  On  Wednesday  morning  he  was  addressed  by  the  mayor, 
the  clergy,  and  the  society  of  Free  Masons,  and  having  visited  the 
several  parts  of  the  town,  he  sailed  for  Providence,  where  his  re- 


228 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ception  was  remarkably  enthusiastic,  and  was  followed  by  every 
conceivable  demonstration  of  respectful  attachment.  He  returned 
on  the  twenty-first,  having  been  'absent  ten  days,  with  his  health 
improved  by  the  voyage. 

X. 

The  second  session  of  the  first  Congress  — the  last  ever  held  in 
Hew  York  — was  closed  on  the  twelfth  of  August,  and  on  the 
thirtieth  the  President  set  out  for  Virginia,  where  he  proposed  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  the  season.  The  excursion  to  Rhode  Island 
had  caused  a partial  and  temporary  restoration  of  his  strength,  but 
he  was  still  suffering  from  disease,  brought  on  by  too  constant  ap- 
plication to  business,  and  he  contemplated  with  delight  the  repose 
and  recreation  he  should  find  at  Mount  Vernon.  “ Within  the  last 
twelve  months,”  he  wrote,  “I  have  undergone  more  and  severer 
sickness  than  thirty  preceding  years  afflicted  me  with.  I have 
abundant  reason,  however,  to  be  thankful,  that  I am  so  well  recov- 
ered ; though  I still  feel  the  remains  of  the  violent  affection  of  my 
lungs : the  cough,  pain  in  my  breast,  and  shortness  of  breathing, 
not  having  entirely  left  me.”  The  day  before  his  departure  he 
entertained  the  mayor  and  corporation,  and  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Clinton,  at  his  last  public  dinner.  He  recalled  the  many  interest- 
ing scenes  with  which  he  had  been  connected  in  the  city  and  its 
vicinity,  and  spoke  with  much  emotion  of  the  kindness  which  he 
had  received  from  the  people  during  all  his  intercourse  with  them, 
especially  since  the  establishment  of  the  federal  government.  It 
was  his  intention  to  avoid  all  ceremony  in  leaving,  but  the  execu- 
tive officers  of  the  United  States,  the  governor  and  principal  offi- 
cers of  the  state,  the  mayor  and  corporation,  the  clergy,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  many  other  respectable 
persons,  attended  and  escorted  him  to  the  place  where  he  was  to 


EIGHTY-NINE  AND  NINETY. 


229 


embark,  on  tbe  beautiful  barge  wliicli  had  been  presented  to  him 
on  his  arrival  in  the  previous  year.  He  left  his  residence  at  half 
after  ten  o’clock,  with  Mrs.  Washington  and  the  other  members  of 
his  family,  and  the  moment  they  stepped  from  the  wharf  was  an- 
nounced by  thirteen  guns  from  the  battery.  The  solemnity  of  this 
parting  scene*  was  singularly  different  from  the  tumultuous  joy  with 
which  the  President  had  been  received,  a year  and  a half  before. 
He  again  expressed  the  sense  he  entertained  of  the  disposition  of 
the  citizens  to  render  his  residence  among  them  agreeable ; said 
that,  although  circumstances  had  made  his  removal  necessary,  he 
should  never  forget  their  generous  attentions ; and  wished  them, 
their  state,  and  city,  every  prosperity.  Governor  Clinton,  Chief 
Justice  Jay,  General  Knox,  Colonel  Hamilton,  and  the  mayor,  ac- 
companied him  as  far  as  Paulus  Hook. 

Having  landed  in  New  Jersey,  the  President  had  no  further  use 
for  his  barge,  and  he  directed  that  it  should  be  returned,  with  the 
following  letter,  written  just  before  starting,  to  Captain  Thomas 

* “ As  the  General  left  the  house,  he  took  my  hand,  and  I thought  I never  saw  him  look  so 
sad.  We  reached  the  appointed  place  of  departure,  I see  the  spot  plainly  before  me : the  crowd 

was  immense the  eyes  of  the  multitude  were  steadily  bent  upon  him,  but  not  a whisper 

among  the  whole  was  audible.  When  arrived  at  the  spot,  he  paused,  and  for  a moment  surveyed 
the  scene.  I saw  that  his  heart  was  too  full  for  utterance,  and  his  eyes  seemed  bursting  with 

suppressed  tears;  still  he  calmly  looked  on  all  around. At  length,  when  the  last  officer  had 

been  embraced,  the  General  seemed  for  a moment  to  gain  a self  possession,  and  with  a firm  step 
turned  towards  the  boat  in  waiting;  he  stepped  on  board,  and  almost  sunk  upon  the  seat;  this 
was  but  for  an  instant,  for  as  the  boat  shoved  off,  he  stood  upright,  and  quickly  raising  his  hat 
with  that  grace  and  dignity  which  seemed  peculiarly  to  belong  to  him,  he  surveyed  once  morfe 
his  officers,  and  his  friends,  and  after  pausing  a moment,  he  murmured  with  an  emphasis  I can 
never  forget,  so  full  of  mingled  sorrow  and  affliction,  so  deep  and  earnest,  so  soulfelt  in  its  ac- 
cents, the  single  word  1 Farewell ! ’ and  waving  his  hat,  the  fresh  gushing  tears  prevented  his 
further  action  or  utterance.  At  that  moment  a shout,  such  as  I have  never  heard,  before  or 
since  — one  simultaneous  shout  — burst  from  the  shore,  and  so  loud,  and  deep,  and  full,  was  it, 
that  it  drowned  the  echo  of  the  heavy  guns,  the  large  twenty-eight  pounders,  which  at  the 
same  moment  were  fired  from  a short  distance  above.  A dull  heavy  noise  was  all  I could 
distinguish ; and  as  the  acclaim  of  the  multitude  was  wafted  over  the  parting  waves,  and  the 
cannon’s  smoke  rose  upwards,  the  General  once  more  waved  his  hand,  and  the  boat  shot  rapidly 
from  the  shore.  This  was  the  last  time  he  ever  saw  New  York.” — George  Washington  Parke 
Custis’s  “Recollections.” 


230 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Randall,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  gentlemen  through  whom 
he  had  received  it. 

ujSir:  On  the  second  of  May,  1^ 89, 1 wrote  yon,  requesting  that 
my  acknowledgments  might  be  offered  to  the  gentlemen  who  had 
presented  an  elegant  barge  to  me,  on  my  arrival  in  this  city.  As  I 
am,  at  this  moment,  about  commencing  my  journey  to  Virginia, 
and  consequently  shall  have  no  farther  occasion  for  the  use  of  the 
barge,  I must  now  desire  that  you  will  return  it,  in  my  name,  and 
with  my  best  thanks,  to  the  original  proprietors : at  the  same  time 
I shall  be  much  obliged  if  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  add,  on 
my  part,  that  in  accepting  their  beautiful  present,  I considered  it 
as  a pledge  of  that  real  urbanity  which,  I am  happy  in  declaring, 
I have  experienced  on  every  occasion  during  my  residence  among 
them ; that  I ardently  wish  every  species  of  prosperity  may  be  the 
constant  portion  of  the  respectable  citizens  of  New  York ; and  that 
I shall  always  retain  a grateful  remembrance  of  the  polite  attention 
of  the  citizens  in  general,  and  of  those  in  particular  to  whom  the 
contents  of  this  note  are  addressed.  I am,  with  sentiments  of  re- 
gard and  esteem,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

“G.  Washington.” 


if 


'U«0(5 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


T. 

There  was  no  subject  before  the  first  Congress  wbicb  produced 
a deeper  feeling  or  more  warm  debate  than  that  of  the  permanent 
establishment  of  the  seat  of  government.  On  the  twenty-first  of 
October,  1783,  the  old  Congress,  insulted  at  Philadelphia  by  a band 
of  mutineers  whom  the  state  authorities  were  unable  to  put  down, 
adjourned  to  Princeton,  where  it  occupied  the  halls  of  the  college, 
and  finally  to  New  York,  where  it  assembled  in  the  beginning  of 
1785.  The  question  continued  in  debate,  not  only  in  Congress,  but 
in  the  public  journals  and  private  correspondence  of  all  parts  of 
the  country,  and  was  brought  before  the  convention  for  forming 
the  Constitution,  at  Philadelphia,  but  by  that  body  referred  to  the 
federal  legislature.  It  was  justly  considered  that  extraordinary 
advantages  would  accrue  to  any  city  which  might  become  the  capi- 
tal of  the  nation,  and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  a sectional 
controversy  arose  which  for  a time  threatened  the  most  disastrous 
consequences.  The  eastern  states  would  have  been  satisfied  with 
the  retention  of  the  public  business  in  New  York,  but  Pennsylvania 
wished  it  to  be  conducted  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  and  Mary- 
land and  Virginia,  supported  very  generally  by  the  more  southern 
states,  were  not  less  anxious  that  the  legislative  centre  of  the 
republic  should  be  on  the  Potomac. 


232 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Efforts  were  made  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
another  year,  but  against  this  all  the  southern  parties  protested, 
as  New  York  in  the  mean  time  would  be  likely  to  strengthen  her 
influence,  and  it  was  contended  that  the  danger  of  selecting  any 
large  city  was  already  apparent  in  the  feeling  manifested  in  favor 
of  the  present  metropolis  by  persons  whose  constituents  were  unani- 
mously opposed  to  it.  Dr.  Rush,  in  a letter  to  General  Muhlen- 
berg, after  the  passage  of  a bill  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
for  the  establishment  of  the  seat  of  government  on  the  banks  of 
the  Susquehanna,  wrote,  “I  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  Congress 
leaving  New  York  ; it  is  a sink  of  political  vice ; ” and  again,  “ Do 
as  you  please,  but  tear  Congress  away  from  New  York  in  any  way  ; 
do  not  rise  without  effecting  this  business.”  Other  persons,  whose 
means  of  judging  were  much  better  than  those  of  Dr.  Rush,  be- 
lieved with  Wolcott,  that  “honesty  was  in  fashion”  here,  and  Mr. 
Page,  a member  from  Virginia,  sagacious,  moral,  and  without  local 
interests  except  in  his  own  state,  declared  that  New  York  was  supe- 
rior to  any  place  he  knew  “ for  the  orderly  and  decent  behavior 
of  its  inhabitants.”  As  to  Philadelphia,  the  South  Carolinians 
found  an  objection  in  her  Quakers,  who,  they  said,  “ were  eternally 
dogging  southern  members  with  their  schemes  of  emancipation.” 
There  was  another  very  exciting  proposition  at  the  same  time  be- 
fore Congress,  respecting  which  the  supporting  interests  were  in  a 
different  direction ; the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Virginia,  were  nearly 
as  much  opposed  to  the  assumption  of  the  state  debts,  as  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York  were  to  establishing  the  seat  of  government 
in  such  a position  that  nine  of  the  thirteen  states  should  be  north 
of  it;  and  Mr.  Hamilton,  setting  an  example  of  compromises  for 
the  germinating  statesman  of  Kentucky,  then  a pupil  of  the  vene- 
rable Wythe,  proposed  an  arrangement  which  resulted  in  the  selec- 
tion for  federal  purposes  of  Conogocheague,  on  the  Potomac,  now 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


233 


known  as  the  District  of  Columbia.  Hamilton  and  Robert  Morris, 
both  strong  advocates  for  the  financial  measure,  agreed  that  if  some 
of  the  southern  members  were  gratified  as  to  the  location  of  the 
national  capital,  they  might  be  willing  to  yield  the  other  point, 
and  two  or  three  votes  would  be  sufficient  to  change  the  majority 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Mr.  Jefferson  had  not  been  long 
in  the  city ; he  was  ignorant  of  the  secrets  of  its  diplomacy ; and 
complains  that  he  was  most  innocently  made  to  “ hold  the  can- 
dle ” to  this  intrigue,  “ being  duped  into  it,”  as  he  says,  “ by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  made  a tool  of  for  forwarding  his 
schemes,  not  then  sufficiently  understood.”  Congress  had  met  and 
adjourned,  from  day  to  day,  without  doing  any  thing.  The  mem- 
bers were  too  much  out  of  humor  to  do  business  together.  As 
Jefferson  was  on  his  way  to  the  President’s,  one  morning,  he  met  in 
the  street  Hamilton,  who  walked  him  backwards  and  forwards  in 
Broadway  for  half  an  hour,  describing  the  temper  of  the  legisla- 
ture, the  disgust  of  the  creditor  states,  as  they  were  called,  and  the 
danger  of  disunion,  ending  with  an  appeal  for  his  aid  and  coopera- 
tion, as  a member  of  the  cabinet,  in  calming  an  excitement  and  set- 
tling a question  which  threatened  the  very  existence  of  the  govern- 
ment. Jefferson  proposed  that  Hamilton  should  dine  with  him  the 
next  evening,  and  promised  to  invite  another  friend  or  two,  think- 
ing it  “ impossible  that  reasonable  men,  consulting  together  coolly, 
could  fail,  by  some  mutual  sacrifices  of  opinion,  to  form  a compro- 
mise which  was  to  save  the  Union.”  The  meeting  and  the  discus- 
sion took  place,  and  it  was  finally  decided  that  two  of  the  Virginia 
members  who  had  opposed  that  measure  should  support  the  assump- 
tion bill,  and  that,  to  allay  any  excitement  which  might  thus  be 
produced,  Hamilton  and  Morris  should  bring  sufficient  influence 
from  the  north  to  insure  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  gov- 
ernment on  the  Potomac,  after  its  continuance  in  Philadelphia  for 
30 


234 


T Ik  E KEPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ten  years,  during  which  period  public  buildings  might  be  erected, 
and  such  other  preparation  made  as  should  be  necessary  for  the 
proper  accommodation  of  persons  engaged  with  public  affairs. 
Morris  had  hitherto  strongly  advocated  the  claims  of  Philadelphia 
to  be  the  permanent  metropolis,  and  he  now  shrewdly  concluded, 
President  Duer  observes,  that  if  the  public  offices  were  once  opened 
in  that  city  they  would  continue  there,  as,  but  for  the  silent  influ- 
ence of  the  name  of  Washington,  whose  wishes  on  the  subject  were 
known,  would  have  been  the  case.  Dr.  Green  mentions  that  some 
person  who  was  in  company  with  the  President  during  the  discus- 
sion, remarked,  “ I know  very  well  where  the  federal  city  ought  to 
be.”  “Where,  then,  would  you  put  it?”  inquired  Washington. 
The  fellow  mentioned  a place,  and  was  asked,  “ Why  are  you  sure 
it  should  be  there  ? ” “ For  the  most  satisfactory  of  all  reasons,” 

he  answered  ; “ because  nearly  the  whole  of  my  property  lies  there 
and  in  the  neighborhood.”  The  insolent  meaning  was,  of  course, 
that  Washington  favored  the  location  of  the  capital  in  its  present 
site  because  it  was  near  his  estate.  The  people  of  New  York  were 
disappointed  and  vexed  at  the  result,  and  they  exhibited  their 
spleen  against  Morris,  to  whom  it  was  in  a large  degree  attributed, 
in  a caricature  print,  in  which  the  stout  senator  from  Pennsylvania 
was  seen  marching  off  with  the  Federal  Hall  upon  his  shoulders, 
its  windows  crowded  with  members  of  both  Houses,  encouraging 
or  anathematizing  this  novel  mode  of  deportation,  while  the  devil, 
from  the  roof  of  the  Paulus  Hook  ferry-house,  beckoned  to  him,  in 
a patronizing  manner,  crying,  “ This  way,  Bobby ! ” 

II. 

Captain  Philip  Freneau  had  remained  in  New  York  ever 
since  the  inauguration,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  had 
been  employed  by  Childs  and  Swaine,  printers  of  the  Daily  Ad- 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


235 


vertiser,  as  their  writing  editor.  Through.  Mr.  Madison,  with  whom 
he  had  been  intimate  while  an  undergraduate  at  Princeton  college, 
he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  soon  discovered  his 
useful  qualities.  During  the  agitation  of  the  question  of  the  re- 
moval of  the  seat  of  government  the  papers  abounded  with  vari- 
ous articles  for  or  against  the  several  places  proposed,  and  Freneau 
wrote  some  pungent  paragraphs  in  favor  of  New  York ; but  he 
was  always  most  successful  in  a certain  kind  of  familiar  satirical 
verse,  and  among  the  effusions  of  his  muse  on  this  subject  was  the 
following  correspondence : 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  HOUSE-MAID  TO  HER  FRIEND  IN  NEW  YORK. 

Six  weeks  my  dear  mistress  has  been  in  a fret, 

And  nothing  but  Congress  will  do  for  her  yet  — 

She  says  they  must  come,  or  her  senses  she  ’ll  lose  ; 

From  morning  till  night  she  is  reading  the  news, 

And  loves  the  dear  fellows  that  vote  for  our  town 

(Since  no  one  can  relish  New  York  but  a clown) 

She  tells  us  as  how  she  has  read  in  her  books 
That  God  gives  them  meat,  but  the  devil  sends  cooks ; 

And  Grumbleton  told  us  (who  often  shoots  flying) 

That  fish  you  have  plenty  — but  spoil  them  in  frying ; 

That  your  streets  are  as  crooked,  as  crooked  can  be, 

Right  forward,  three  perches,  he  never  could  see, 

But  his  view  was  cut  short  with  a house  or  a shop 
That  stood  in  his  way  — and  obliged  him  to  stop. 

Those  speakers  that  wish  for  New  York  to  decide  — 

’T  is  a pity  that  talents  are  so  misapplied ! 

My  mistress  declares  she  is  vext  to  the  heart 
That  genius  should  take  such  a pitiful  part ; 

For  the  question,  indeed,  she  is  daily  distrest, 

And  Gerry,  I think,  she  will  ever  detest, 

Who  did  all  he  could,  with  his  tongue  and  his  pen, 

To  keep  the  dear  Congress  shut  up  in  your  den. 

She  insists,  the  expense  of  removing  is  small, 

And  that  two  or  three  thousands  will  answer  it  all ; 

If  that  is  too  much,  and  we  ’re  so  very  poor, 

The  passage  by  water  is  cheaper,  be  sure : 

If  people  object  the  expense  of  a team, 

Here ’s  Fitch,  with  his  wherry,  will  bring  themHby  steam ; 


236 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


And,  Nabby  ! — if  once  he  should  take  them  on  board, 

The  honor  will  be  a sufficient  reward. 

But,  as  to  myself,  I vow  and  declare 
I wish  it  would  suit  them  to  stay  where  they  are ; 

I plainly  foresee,  that  if  once  they  remove, 

Throughout  the  long  day,  we  shall  drive,  and  be  drove. . . . 
Such  scouring  will  be  as  has  never  been  seen, 

We  shall  always  be  cleaning,  and  never  be  clean, 

And  threats  in  abundance  will  work  on  my  fears, 

Of  blows  on  the  back,  and  of  cuffs  on  the  ears. 

Two  trifles,  at  present,  discourage  her  paw, 

The  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  the  fear  of  the  law ; 

But  if  Congress  arrive,  she  will  have  such  a sway 
That  gospel  and  law  will  be  both  done  away. 

For  the  sake  of  a place  I must  bear  all  her  din. 

And  if  ever  so  angry,  do  nothing  but  grin ; 

So  Congress,  I hope,  in  your  town  will  remain, 

And  Nanny  will  thank  them  again  and  again. 

THE  NEW  YORK  HOUSE-MAID  TO  HER  FRIEND  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

Well,  Nanny,  I am  sorry  to  find,  since  you  writ  us, 

The  Congress  at  last  has  determined  to  quit  us; 

You  now  may  begin,  with  your  dishcloths  and  brooms, 

To  be  scouring  your  knockers  and  scrubbing  your  rooms ; 
As  for  us,  my  dear  Nanny,  we  ’re  much  in  a pet, 

And  hundreds  of  houses  will  be  to  be  let ; 

Our  streets,  that  were  just  in  a way  to  look  clever, 

Will  now  be  neglected  and  nasty  as  ever ; 

Again  we  must  fret  at  the  Dutchified  gutters 

And  pebble-stone  pavements,  that  wear  out  our  trotters. 

My  master  looks  dull,  and  his  spirits  are  sinking, 

From  morning  till  night  he  is  smoking  and  thinking, 
Laments  the  expense  of  destroying  the  fort, 

And  says,  your  great  people  are  all  of  a sort ; 

He  hopes  and  he  prays  they  may  die  in  a stall, 

If  they  leave  us  in  debt  — for  the  Federal  Hall ; 

Miss  Letty,  poor  lady,  is  so  in  the  pouts, 

She  values  no  longer  our  dances  and  routs. 

And  sits  in  a corner,  dejected  and  pale, 

As  dull  as  a cat,  and  as  lean  as  a rail ! — 

Poor  thing,  I am  certain  she ’s  in  a decay, 

And  all,  because  Congress  resolve  — not  to  stay ! 

This  Congress  unsettled  is,  sure,  a sad  thing  — 

Seven  years,  my  dear  Nanny,  they ’ve  been  on  the  wing ; 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 


237 


My  master  would  rather  saw  timber,  or  dig, 

Than  see  them  removing  to  Conogocheague  — 

Where  the  houses  and  kitchens  are  yet  to  he  framed, 

The  trees  to  be  felled,  and  the  streets  to  be  named. 

In  a letter  from  Philadelphia-,  dated  tlie  tenth  of  August,  it  is 
said,  “ Some  of  the  blessings  anticipated  from  the  removal  of  Con- 
gress to  this  city  are  already  beginning  to  be  apparent ; rents  of 
houses  have  risen,  and  I fear  will  continue  to  rise,  shamefully  ; even 
in  the  outskirts  they  have  lately  been  increased  from  fourteen,  six- 
teen, and  eighteen  pounds,  to  twenty-five,  twenty-eight,  and  thirty. 
This  is  oppressive.  Our  markets,  it  is  expected,  will  also  be  dearer 
than  heretofore.  Whether  the  advantages  we  shall  enjoy  from  the 
removal  will  be  equivalent  to  these  disadvantages,  time  alone  will 
determine.  I am  convinced,  however,  if  things  go  on  in  this  man- 
ner, a very  great  majority  of  our  citizens  will  have  good  reason  to 
wish  the  government  settled  at  Conogocheague  long  before  the  ten 
years  are  expired.”  On  the  seventh  of  September  Oliver  Wolcott 
referred  to  this  rise  of  rents,  in  a letter  to  his  wife.  “ I have  at  length 
been  to  Philadelphia,”  he  says,  “ and  with  much  difficulty  have  pro- 
cured a house,  in  Third  street,  which  is  a respectable  part  of  the 
city.  The  rent  is  one  hundred  pounds,  which  is  excessive,  being 
nearly  double  what  would  have  been  exacted  before  the  matter  of 
residence  was  determined.” 

The  appearance  of  Philadelphia  was  quite  as  monotonous  then 
as  it  is  now ; but  the  city  contained  many  fine  private  residences, 
and  Christ’s  church  had  for  that  time  a cathedral  air,  and  the  Dutch 
church  was  described  as  magnificent.  The  several  edifices  appro- 
priated for  the  use  of  the  federal  government  were  inferior  to  those 
in  New  York,  but  Independence  Hall  was  endeared  to  the  memories 
of  many  of  the  senators  and  representatives,  who  had  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  ample  if  not  elegant  accom- 
modations were  promised  for  all  departments  of  the  public  service. 


238 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


“ Philadelphia  is  a large  and  elegant  city,”  writes  Wolcott,  “but  it 
did  not  strike  me  with  the  astonishment  which  the  citizens  predict- 
ed ; like  the  rest  of  mankind  they  judge  favorably  of  their  own 
place  of  residence,  and  of  themselves,  and  their  representations  are 
to  be  admitted  with  some  deduction.”  One  attraction  of  Philadel- 
phia, however,  could  not  well  be  overpraised ; her  markets  were 
perhaps  the  best  in  the  world ; and  we  have  the  testimony  of  nu- 
merous travellers  to  their  extraordinary  neatness,  their  order,  and 
the  general  moderation  of  them  prices. 

III. 

The  private  life  of  Washington  was  scarcely  less  remarkable 
than  his  great  career  as  founder  of  the  republic ; indeed  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  such  qualities  as  have  made  men  eminent  in  pub- 
lic affairs  were  ever  before  or  since  illustrated  to  an  equal  extent 
by  them  possessors  in  a domestic  and  household  administration.  It 
has  been  said  of  Wellington  that  he  would  have  made  but  an  in- 
different drill  sergeant,  but  Washington  would  have  been  as  excel- 
lent in  the  lowest  as  he  was  in  the  highest  offices,  as  exact  in  the 
performance  of  humble  duties  as  he  was  in  the  execution  of  great 
designs  upon  which  hung  so  much  of  the  well-being  of  the  human 
race. 

Some  interesting  exhibitions  of  his  judgment,  justice,  and  ex- 
treme particularity,  as  the  head  of  his  family,  are  contained  in  the 
letters  which  he  addressed  to  Mr.  Lear,  one  of  his  private  secre- 
taries, respecting  the  removal  of  his  personal  effects  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia,  and  the  preparation  of  a new  residence  for 
his  occupation.  Four  days  after  he  left  New  York  he  wrote 
him  from  Philadelphia,  “After  a pleasant  journey  we  arrived 
in  this  city  on  Thursday  last,  and  to-morrow  we  proceed  (if  Mrs. 
Washington’s  health  will  permit,  for  she  has  been  much  indisposed 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


239 


since  we  came  here)  toward  Mount  Vernon.  The  house  of  Mr. 
Robert  Morris  had,  previous  to  my  arrival,  been  taken  by  the  cor- 
poration for  my  residence.  It  is  the  best  they  could  get.  It  is,  I 
believe,  the  best  single  house  in  the  city.  Yet  without  additions 
it  is  inadequate  to  the  commodious  accommodation  of  my  family. 
These  additions  I believe  will  be  made.  The  first  floor  contains 
only  two  public  rooms  (except  one  for  the  upper  servants).  The 
second  floor  will  have  two  public  (drawing)  rooms,  and  with  the 
aid  of  one  room,  with  a partition  in  it,  in  the  back  building,  will 
be  sufficient  for  the  use  of  Mrs.  Washington  and  the  children,  and 
their  maids,  besides  affording  her  a small  place  for  a private  study 
and  dressing  room.  The  third  story  will  furnish  you  and  Mrs. 
Lear  with  a good  lodging  room,  a public  office  (for  there  is  no  room 
below  for  one),  and  two  rooms  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  family. 
The  garret  has  four  good  rooms,  which  must  serve  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hyde,*  unless  they  should  prefer  the  room  over  the  work-house, 
William,  and  such  servants  as  it  may  not  be  better  to  place  in  the 
proposed  additions  to  the  back  building.  There  is  a room  over  the 
stable  which  may  serve  the  coachman  and  postillions,  and  there  is 
a smoke  house,  which  may  possibly  be  more  valuable  for  the  use  of 
servants  than  for  the  smoking  of  meats.  The  intention  of  the  ad- 
dition to  the  back  building  is  to  provide  a servant’s  hall,  and  one 
or  two  lodging  rooms  for  the  servants.  There  are  good  stables, 
but  for  twelve  horses  only,  and  a coach  house,  which  will  hold  all 
my  carriages.  Speaking  of  carriages,  I have  left  my  coach  to  re- 
ceive a thorough  repair,  by  the  time  I return,  which  I expect  will 
be  before  the  first  of  December.” 

The  legislature  about  the  same  time  appropriated  for  his  occu- 
pation a fine  building  in  South  Ninth  street,  on  the  grounds  now 
covered  by  the  University.  The  industrious  antiquary,  Mr  Folm 

* Mr.  Hyde  was  butler,  or  intendent  of  the  kitchen,  in  New  York. 


240 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


F.  Watson,  is  entirely  wrong  in  supposing  tliat  the  President  de 
clined  to  accept  this  house  because  of  “ the  great  expense  of  fur- 
nishing it  on  his  own  account.”  A principal  cause  of  his  refusal  of 
the  offer  of  the  state  government  was  that  he  would  on  no  consid- 
eration live  in  a house  which  should  not  be  hired  and  furnished 
exclusively  with  his  own  means.  The  commonwealth  and  the  muni- 
cipality were  both  but  too  willing  to  relieve  him  of  any  drain  upon 
his  private  fortune  for  the  support  of  his  personal  establishment, 
still  cherishing  hopes  that  Philadelphia,  notwithstanding  the  act  of 
Congress  for  the  purchase  of  Conogocheague,  might  remain  perma- 
nently the  seat  of  government ; and  Washington  could  not  fail  of 
regarding  their  generous  offers  for  his  domestic  accommodation  as 
intended  in  some  degree  to  influence  his  own  judgment  or  action 
on  this  subject.  Another  reason  may  be  found  in  the  determina- 
tion of  the  President  to  live  in  a style  of  the  utmost  simplicity  and 
modesty  that  should  seem  compatible  with  the  dignity  of  his  offi- 
cial position.  Mi*.  Morris’s  house  was  on  the  south  side  of  High 
street,  near  Fifth  street.  It  was  three  stories  high,  and  about  thirty- 
two  feet  wide,  with  a front  displaying  four  windows  in  the  second 
as  well  as  in  the  third  story,  and  three  in  the  first — two  on  one  side 
of  the  hall  and  one  on  the  other — and  a single  door,  approached  by 
three  heavy  steps  of  gray  stone.  On  each  side  of  the  house  were 
vacant  lots,  used  as  a garden,  and  containing  trees  and  shrubbery. 

Washington  directed  Mr.  Lear,  repeatedly,  to  ascertain  what 
would  be  the  rent,  but  to  the  middle  of  November  the  secretary  had 
been  unsuccessful.  He  then  wrote  to  him,  “ I am,  I must  confess, 
exceedingly  unwilling  to  go  into  any  house  without  first  knowing  on 
what  terms  I do  it,  and  wish  this  sentiment  could  be  again  hinted 
in  delicate  terms  to  the  parties  concerned  with  me.  I cannot,  if 
there  are  no  latent  motives  which  govern  this  case,  see  any  difficulty 
in  the  business.  Mr.  Morris  has  most  assuredly  formed  an  idea  of 


THE  REMOVAL. 


241 


what  ought  in  equity  to  be  the  rent  of  the  tenement  in  the  condi- 
tion he  left  it ; and  with  this  aid  the  committee  ought,  I conceive, 
to  be  as  little  at  a loss  in  determining  what  it  should  rent  for,  with 
the  additions  and  alterations  which  are  about  to  be  made,  and 
which  ought  to  be  done  in  a plain  and  neat  and  not  by  any  means 
in  an  extravagant  style ; because  the  latter  is  not  only  contrary  to 
my  wish,  but  would  really  be  detrimental  to  my  interest  and  con- 
venience, principally  because  it  would  be  the  means  of  keeping  me 
out  of  the  use  and  comforts  of  the  house  to  a late  period,  and  be- 
cause the  furniture  and  every  thing  else  would  require  to  be  accor- 
dant therewith ; besides  making  me  pay  an  extravagant  price,  per- 
haps, to  accommodate  the  alterations  to  the  taste  of  another,  or 
the  exorbitant  rates  of  the  workman.  I do  not  know  nor  do  I be- 
lieve that  any  thing  unfair  is  intended  by  either  Mr.  Morris  or  the 
committee ; but  let  us  for  a moment  suppose  that  the  rooms  (the 
new  ones  I mean)  were  to  be  hung  with  tapestry,  or  a very  rich 
and  costly  paper,  neither  of  which  would  suit  my  present  furniture ; 
that  costly  ornaments  for  the  bow  windows,  extravagant  chimney- 
pieces,  and  the  like,  were  to  be  provided ; that  workmen,  from  ex- 
travagance of  the  times,  for  every  twenty  shillings’  worth  of  work 
would  charge  forty  shillings ; and  that  advantage  would  be  taken 
of  the  occasion  to  newly  paint  every  part  of  the  house  and  build- 
ings : would  there  be  any  propriety  in  adding  ten  or  twelve-and-a- 
half  per  cent,  for  all  this  to  the  rent  of  the  house  in  its  original 
state,  for  the  two  years  that  I am  to  hold  it  ? If  the  solution  of  these 
questions  is  in  the  negative,  wherein  lies  the  difficulty  of  determin- 
ing that  the  houses  and  lots  when  finished  according  to  the  pro- 
posed plan  ought  to  rent  for  so  much  ? When  all  is  done  that  can 
be  done,  the  residence  will  not  be  so  commodious  as  that  I left  in 
New  York,  for  there  (and  the  want  of  it  will  be  found  a real  in- 
convenience at  Mr.  Morris’s)  my  office  was  in  the  front  room,  be- 
31 


242 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


low,  where  persons  on  business  immediately  entered ; whereas,  in 
the  present  case,  they  will  have  to  ascend  two  pairs  of  stairs,  and 
to  pass  by  the  public  rooms  as  well  as  the  private  chambers,  to  get 
to  it.  Notwithstanding  which  I am  willing  to  allow  as  much  as 
was  paid  to  Mr.  McCornb,  and  shall  say  nothing  if  more  is  demand- 
ed, unless  there  is  apparent  extortion,  or  the  policy  of  delay  is  to 
see  to  what  height  rents  will  rise  before  mine  is  fixed.  In  either 
of  these  cases  I shall  not  be  pleased ; and  to  occupy  the  premises 
at  the  expense  of  any  public  body,  I will  not.”  The  rent  was  ulti- 
mately settled  at  three  thousand  dollars  a year,  and  at  this  rate  the 
house  was  occupied  until  Washington  ceased  to  be  President.* 

* la  “A  Sketch,  in  Part  from  Memory,”  embracing  interesting  reminiscences  of  Philadelphia 
in  the  concluding  years  of  the  last  century,  and  attributed  to  that  accomplished  statesman,  Mr. 
Richard  Rush,  I find  the  following  sentences  respecting  this  house:  “Walking  lately  down  Mar- 
ket street,  from  the  western  part  of  the  city,”  says  the  author,  “ I looked  about,  after  passing 
Sixth  street,  for  the  former  residence  of  General  Washington.  I thought  I had  discovered  it, 
though  greatly  metamorphosed,  in  a house  some  half  dozen  doors  below  Sixth  street,  on  the 
south  side,  which  still  retained  a little  of  the  old  fashion  in  front,  with  dentels  pendant  from  the 
cornice;  but,  on  inquiry,  I found  that  it  was  not.  The  mansion  of  Washington  stood  by  itself. 
It  was  a large  double  house  ; few,  if  any,  equal  to  it,  are  at  present  in  Philadelphia,  the  house  built 
by  Mr.  Bingham  in  Third  street,  near  Spruce  street,  excepted,  though  that  is  much  cut  down 
from  its  original  size  and  appearance.  The  brick  of  the  house  in  which  Washington  lived  was, 
even  in  his  time,  dark  with  age;  and  two  ancient  lamp  posts,  furnished  with  large  lamps,  which 
stood  in  front  on  the  pavement  near  the  street,  marked  it,  in  conjunction  with  the  whole  external 
aspect,  as  the  abode  of  opulence  and  respectability  before  he  became  its  august  tenant.  No 
market-house  then  stood  in  the  street  To  the  east,  a brick  wall  six  or  seven  feet  high  ran  well 
on  towards  Fifth  street,  until  it  met  other  houses.  The  wall  inclosed  a garden  which  was  shaded 
by  lofty  old  trees,  and  ran  back  to  what  is  now  Minor  street,  where  the  stables  stood.  All  is  now 
gone.  Not  a trace  is  left  of  that  once  venerable  and  stately  residence,  for  it  had  intrinsically 
something  of  the  latter  characteristic  by  its  detached  situation,  and  the  space  left  around  it  for 
accommodation  on  all  sides.  To  the  west  no  building  adjoined  it, ‘the  nearest  house  in  that  di- 
rection standing  at  a fair  distance  from  it,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets,  where  lived 
Robert  Morris,  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  revolution,  and  the  well  known  friend  of  Washington. 
What  hallowed  recollections  did  not  that  neighborhood  awaken!  The  career  of  Washington,  his 
consummate  wisdom,  his  transcendant  services,  his  full-orbed  glory,  his  spotless,  matchless  fame  1 
Let  no  future  Plutarch,  said  one  of  his  biographers,  attempt  a parallel ; let  none  among  the  dead 
or  living  appear  in  the  same  picture  with  him.  lie  stands  alone.  In  the  annals  of  time,  it  is 
recorded  as  the  single  glory  of  republican  America,  to  have  given  to  the  world  such  an  example 
of  human  perfection.  History  has  consecrated  it  to  the  instruction  of  mankind ; and  happy  if 
republican  America  shall  cleave  to  the  maxims  which  he  bequeathed  to  her  in  a paper  pronounced, 
by  an  eminent  English  historian,  to  be  unequalled  by  any  composition  of  uninspired  wisdom. 


THE  REMOVAL. 


243 


In  regard  to  servants,  lie  had  already  written  to  Mr.  Lear ; 
“ The  pressure  of  business  under  which  I labored  for  several  days 
before  I left  New  York  allowed  me  no  time  to  inquire  who  of  the 
female  servants  it  was  proposed  or  thought  advisable  to  remove 

here,  besides  the  wives  of  the  footmen,  James  and  Fidas With 

respect  to  Mr.  Hyde  and  his  wife,  if  it  is  not  stated  on  some  paper 
handed  in  by  Mr.  Hyde,  it  is  nevertheless  strong  on  my  recollection, 
that  his  wife’s  services  were  put  down  at  one  and  his  own  services 
at  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  I have  no  wish  to  part  with 
Mr.  or  Mrs.  Hyde,  first,  because  I do  not  like  to  be  changing,  and 
second,  because  I do  not  know  where  or  with  whom  to  supply  their 
places.  On  the  score  of  accounts,  I can  say  nothing,  having  never 
taken  a comparative  view  of  his  and  Fraunces’s ; but  I am  exceed- 
ingly mistaken  if  the  expenses  of  the  second  table,  at  which  Mr. 
Hyde  presides,  have  not  greatly  exceeded  those  of  the  tables  kept  by 
Fraunces,  for  I strongly  suspect  (but  in  this  I may  be  mistaken) 
that  nothing  is  brought  to  my  table,  of  liquors,  fruits,  or  other  lux- 
uries, that  is  not  used  as  profusely  at  his.  If  my  suspicions  are  un- 
founded I shall  be  sorry  for  having  entertained  them,  and  if  they 
are  not,  it  is  at  least  questionable  whether  under  his  successor  the 
same  things  might  not  be  done  ; in  which  case,  (if  Hyde  is  honest 
and  careful,  of  which  you  are  better  able  to  judge  than  I am,)  a 
change  without  a benefit  might  take  place,  which  is  not  desirable 
if  they  are  to  be  retained  on  proper  terms.  I say  they,  for  if  Mrs. 
Hyde  is  necessary  for  the  purposes  enumerated  in  your  letter,  and 
the  cook  is  not  competent  to  prepare  the  dessert,  make  cake,  &c.,  I 
do  not  see  of  what  use  Hyde  will  be,  more  than  William,  without 

Thrice  favored  Virginia,  to  have  formed  the  early  life  of  such  a man  — to  have  rocked  his  cradle, 
and  to  contain  his  ashes  I In  Holland  there  is  still  to  be  seen  the  building,  small  and  shed- like 
as  it  is,  carefully  kept  in  its  original  state,  in  which  Peter  the  Great,  of  Russia,  lived  whilst 
working  in  the  naval  dock-yard  at  Sardam,  in  1691 ; but  I could  find  no  vestige  of  the  Phila- 
delphia domicil  of  Washington,  relatively  recent  as  was  the  day  when  his  living  presence  sanc- 
tified it.” 


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her. . . . Fraunces,  besides  being  an  excellent  cook,  knowing  how  tc 
provide  genteel  dinners,  and  giving  aid  in  dressing  them,  prepared 
the  dessert,  made  the  cake,  and  did  every  thing  that  is  done  by 
Hyde  and  his  wife  together ; consequently  the  services  of  Hyde  alone 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  those  of  Fraunces ; and  if  his  accounts 
exceed  those  of  Fraunces,  in  the  same  seasons,  four  or  five  pounds  a 
week,  and  at  the  same  time  appear  fair,  I shall  have  no  scruple  to  ac- 
knowledge that  I have  entertained  much  harder  thoughts  of  him 
than  I ought  to  have  done;  although  it  is  unaccountable  to  me 
how  other  families,  on  twenty-five  hundred  or  three  thousand  dol- 
lars a year,  should  be  enabled  to  entertain  more  company,  or  at 
least  entertain  more  frequently,  than  I could  do  for  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars” 

Of  the  style  in  which  the  presidential  residence  was  furnished 
an  impression  may  be  derived  from  some  further  extracts  from  the 
same  series  of  letters.  The  President  writes  soon  after : “ Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Morris  have  insisted  upon  leaving  the  two  large  looking-glasses 
which  are  in  their  best  rooms  because  they  have  no  place,  they  say, 
proper  to  remove  them  to,  and  because  they  are  unwilling  to  haz- 
ard the  taking  of  them  down.  You  will,  therefore,  let  them  have 
instead  the  choice  of  mine : the  large  ones  I purchased  of  the  French 
minister  they  do  not  incline  to  take,  but  will  be  glad  of  some  of 
the  others.  They  will  also  leave  a large  glass  lamp  in  the  entry  or 

hall,  and  will  take  one  or  more  of  my  glass  lamps  in  lieu  of  it 

Mrs.  Morris  has  a mangle  (I  think  it  is  called)  for  ironing  clothes, 
which,  as  it  is  fixed  in  the  place  where  it  is  commonly  used,  she 
proposes  to  leave,  and  take  mine.  To  this  I have  no  objection,  pro- 
vided mine  is  equally  good  and  convenient ; but  if  I should  obtain 
any  advantages,  besides  that  of  its  being  up  and  ready  for  use,  I 
am  not  inclined  to  receive  it. 

“ I have  no  particular  direction  to  give  respecting  the  appropria 


THE  REMOVAL. 


245 


tion  of  the  furniture.  By  means  of  the  bow  windows  the  back 
rooms  will  become  the  largest,  and  of  course  will  receive  the  fur- 
niture of  the  largest  dining  and  drawing  rooms,  and  in  that  case, 
though  there  are  no  closets  in  them,  there  are  some  in  the  steward’s 
room,  directly  opposite,  which  are  not  inconvenient.  There  is  a 
small  room  adjoining  the  kitchen,  that  might,  if  it  is  not  essential 
for  other  purposes,  be  appropriated  for  the  Sevres  china,  and  other 
things  of  that  sort,  which  are  not  in  common  use.  Mrs.  Morris, 
who  is  a notable  lady  in  family  arrangements,  can  give  you  much 
information  on  all  the  conveniences  about  the  house  and  buildings, 
and  I dare  say  would  rather  consider  it  as  a compliment  to  be  con- 
sulted in  those  matters,  as  she  is  so  near,  than  a trouble  to  give  her 
opinion  of  them. 

“ I approve,  at  least  till  inconvenience  or  danger  shall  appear, 
of  the  large  table  ornaments  remaining  on  the  sideboard,  and  of 
the  pagodas  standing  in  the  smallest  drawing-room.  Had  I de- 
livered my  sentiments  from  here  respecting  this  fixture,  that  is  the 
apartment  I should  have  named  for  it.  Whether  the  green,  which 
you  have,  or  a new  yellow  curtain,  should  be  appropriated  to  the 
staircase  above  the  hall,  may  depend  on  your  getting  an  exact 
match,  in  color  and  so  forth,  of  the  latter.  For  the  sake  of  appear- 
ances one  would  not,  in  instances  of  this  kind,  regard  a small  addi- 
tional expense.” 

In  other  letters  we  have  the  same  minuteness  of  detail  as  to  the 
proper  modes  of  packing  porcelain,  glass,  and  other  articles,  and 
such  indications  of  taste  as  show  that  Washington  perfectly  under- 
stood the  proprieties  of  an  effective  arrangement  of  furniture,  and 
was  careful  that  his  own  home  should,  in  this  respect  at  least,  ap- 
pear to  the  best  advantage. 

Washington  has  never  been  presented  as  an  inventor,  and  his 
name  probably  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Patent  Office ; but  in  the 


246 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


following  extract  lie  appears  as  tlie  author  of  the  wine-coaster,  an 
article  which  for  more  than  a quarter  of  a century  was  a necessity 
on  every  dinner-table.  “ Enclosed,”  he  writes  to  Mr.  Lear,  “ I send 
you  a letter  from  M.  Gouverneur  Morris,  with  a bill  of  the  cost 
of  the  articles  he  was  to  send  me.  The  prices  of  the  plated  ware 
exceed — far  exceed  — the  utmost  bounds  of  my  calculation ; but 
as  I am  persuaded  he  has  done  what  he  conceives  right,  I am  satis- 
fied, and  request  you  to  make  immediate  payment  to  Mr.  Consta- 
ble, if  you  can  raise  the  means As  these  coolers  are  designed  for 

warm  weather,  and  will  be,  I presume,  useless  in  cold,  or  in  that  in 
which  the  liquors  do  not  require  cooling,  quere , would  not  a stand 
like  that  for  castors,  with  four  apertures  for  so  many  different  kinds 
of  liquors,  each  aperture  just  sufficient  to  hold  one  of  the  cut  de- 
canters sent  by  Mr.  Morris,  be  more  convenient,  for  passing  the  bot- 
tles from  one  to  another,  than  the  handing  each  bottle  separately, 
by  which  it  often  happens  that  one  bottle  moves,  another  stops,  and 
all  are  in  confusion?  Two  of  them  — one  for  each  end  of  the 
table,  with  a flat  bottom,  with  or  without  feet,  open  at  the  side,  but 
with  a raised  rim,  as  castor  stands  have,  and  an  upright,  by  way  of 
handle,  in  the  middle  — could  not  cost  a great  deal  even  if  made 
wholly  of  silver.  Talk  to  a silversmith  and  ascertain  the  cost,  and 
whether  they  could  be  immediately  made,  if  required,  in  a hand- 
some fashion.  Perhaps  the  coolers  sent  by  Mr.  Morris  may  afford 
ideas  of  taste ; perhaps,  too,  (if  they  prove  not  too  heavy,  when 
examined,)  they  may  supersede  the  necessity  of  such  as  I have  de- 
scribed, by  answering  the  purpose  themselves.  Four  double  flint 
bottles  (such  as  I suspect  Mr.  Morris  has  sent)  will  weigh,  I conjec- 
ture, four  pounds ; the  wine  in  them  when  they  are  filled  will  be 
eight  pounds  more,  which,  added  to  the  weight  of  the  coolers,  will, 
[ fear,  make  these  latter  too  unwieldy  to  pass,  especially  by  ladies, 
which  induces  me  to  think  of  a frame  in  the  form  of  castors.” 


THE  REMOVAL. 


247 


Though.  Mrs.  Washington  is  said  by  some  people  who  have 
written  descriptions  or  memoirs  of  hereto  have  been  a very  nota- 
ble housewife,  it  does  not  appear  from  any  correspondence  or  other 
documents  which  have  fallen  under  my  observation  that  she  ever 
did  much  to  relieve  the  General  of  the  trouble  of  household  affairs. 
They  evidently  lived  together  on  very  excellent  terms,  though  she 
sometimes  was  disposed  to  quarrel  with  him  about  her  grand- 
children, who,  he  insisted,  (and  he  always  carried  his  point,)  should 
be  under  thorough  disciplinarians  as  well  as  competent  teachers, 
when  they  were  sent  from  home  to  be  educated.  On  one  occasion, 
however,  he  writes  to  Mr.  Lear  in  a manner  that  evinces  his  wish  to 
yield  to  her  as  much  as  possible : “ As  to  a coachman,”  he  says, 
“Mrs.  Washington’s  predilection  for  Jacob  is  as  strong  as  my  pre- 
judice and  fears  are  great ; yet  in  your  inquiries  after  one,  ask  some- 
thing concerning  Jacob , who  wanted  much,  it  seems,  to  return  to 
us,  while  we  were  at  Philadelphia.”  In  the  matter  of  coachmen 
and  postillions  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  very  fortunate. 
He  had  written  back  to  New  York  from  Spurrier’s,  in  Maryland, 
when  on  his  way  to  Mount  Vernon:  “With  some  difficulty  (from 
the  most  infamous  roads  that  ever  were  seen)  we  have  got  to  this 
place,  and  are  awaiting  dinner,  but  have  no  expectation  of  reaching 
Baltimore  to-night.  Dunn  has  given  such  proof  of  his  want  of 
skill  in  driving,  that  I find  myself  under  the  necessity  of  looking 
out  for  some  one  to  take  his  place.  Before  we  reached  Elizabeth- 
town we  were  obliged  to  take  him  from  the  coach  and  put  him  on 
the  wagon.  This  he  turned  over  twice,  aud  this  morning  he  was 
found  much  intoxicated.  He  has  also  got  the  horses  into  a habit 
of  stopping.”  And  his  attention  to  equipage  is  illustrated  in  a 
communication  as  to  the  clothes  of  his  footmen.  “ Upon  examining 
the  caps  of  Giles  and  Paris,”  he  says,  “ I find  they  (especially  that 
of  Paris)  are  much  worn,  and  will  be  unfit  to  appear  in  with  de- 


248 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


cency,  after  the  journey  from  here  is  performed.  I therefore  re- 
quest that  you  will  have  two  new  ones  made,  with  fuller  and  richer 
tassels  at  the  top  than  the  old  ones  have.  That  the  maker  of  them 
may  have  some  guide,  as  to  the  size,  the  inclosed  dimensions  of  their 
heads  will,  I presume,  he  sufficient.” 

Mrs.  Washington  is  frequently  referred  to  in  his  letters,  when 
absent,  in  a manner  which  evinces  a constant  thoughtfulness  of  her 
happiness.  On  one  occasion  he  writes  to  Mr.  Lear,  “ Furnish  Mrs. 
Washington  with  what  money  she  may  want,  and  from  time  to 
time  ask  her  if  she  does  want,  as  she  is  not  fond  of  applying.” 
Again,  “ I send,  with  my  best  remembrances,  a sermon  for  her.  I 
presume  it  is  good,  coming  all  the  way  from  New  Hampshire ; but 
do  not  vouch  for  it,  not  having  read  a word  of  it.” 

No  one  can  read  these  very  curious  and  characteristic  letters 
and  not  recall  with  a feeling  of  indignation  those  charges  of  inor- 
dinate and  anti-republican  state  and  splendor,  which  the  impossi- 
bility of  detecting  any  fault  in  the  administration  of  weightier 
affairs  caused  the  “ democrats  ” of  that  time  to  bruit  every  where 
against  the  great  founder  and  chief  of  the  federal  party.  No  wis- 
dom or  discretion,  though  these  qualities  had  been  imparted  in  a 
superhuman  prodigality,  nor  any  conduct,  even  if  under  the  most 
absolute  control  of  the  divine  intelligence,  could,  however,  have 
averted  those  rabble  assaults  upon  the  stainless  fame  of  Washing- 
ton, which  distracted  his  councils,  and  occasioned  him  so  much  un- 
happiness. He  himself  says,  in  a letter  to  Catherine  Macaulay, 
“ Our  wishes  were  limited,  and  I think  that  our  plan  of  living  will 
now  be  deemed  reasonable,  by  the  considerate  part  of  our  species. 
Mrs.  Washington’s  ideas  coincide  with  my  own,  as  to  simplicity  of 
dress,  and  every  thing  which  can  tend  to  support  propriety  of 
character,  without  partaking  of  the  follies  of  luxury  and  ostenta- 
tion.” Byron,  contemplating  this  spectacle,  erred  as  greatly  as  the 


THE  REMOVAL. 


249 


simple-hearted  hero,  in  estimating  the  malignant  daring  of  the  yet 
feeble  but  rapidly  growing  opposition  to  the  government.  The 
noble  bard  exclaims : 

“ Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose 
When  gazing  on  the  great, 

Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 

Nor  despicable  state  ? 

Yes  — one,  — the  first,  the  last,  the  best, 

The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 

Whom  Envy  dared  not  hate , 

Bequeathed  the  name  of  Washington, 

To  make  man  blush  there  was  but  one  ! ” 

VI. 

The  removal  of  the  household  of  the  Vice  President  appears 
to  have  been  conducted  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of 
Mrs.  Adams,  who  describes  her  new  residence,  called  Bush  Hill,  in 
a letter  to  her  daughter.  “ Though  there  remains  neither  bush  nor 
shrub  upon  it,  and  very  few  trees,  except  the  pine  grove  behind 
it,  yet  Bush  Hill,”  she  says,  “ is  a very  beautiful  place ; but  the 
grand  and  the  sublime  I left  at  Kichmond  Hill.  The  cultivation  in 
sight,  and  the  prospect,  are  superior  ; but  the  Schuylkill  is  no  more 
like  the  Hudson  than  I to  Hercules.  The  house  is  better  furnished 
within ; but  when  you  come  to  compare  the  conveniences  for  store- 
room, kitchen,  closets,  and  so  forth,  it  has  nothing  like  them.  As 
chance  governs  many  actions  of  my  life,  when  we  arrived  in  the 
city  we  came  directly  here.  By  accident,  the  vessel  with  our  furni- 
ture had  arrived  the  day  before,  and  Briesler  was  taking  the  first 
load  into  a house  all  green-painted,  the  workmen  being  there  with 
brushes  in  hand.  This  was  a cold  comfort,  where,  I suppose,  no  fire 
had  been  kindled  in  several  years,  except  in  a back  kitchen ; but  as 
I expected  many  things  of  this  kind  I was  not  disappointed  nor 
discomfited.  As  no  wood  or  fodder  had  been  provided,  we  could 
32 


250 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


only  turn  about  and  go  to  the  City  Tavern  for  the  night.  The  next 
morning  was  pleasant,  and  I ventured  to  come  up  and  take  posses- 
sion ; but  what  confusion ! boxes,  barrels,  chairs,  tables,  trunks, 
every  thing,  to  be  arranged,  and  few  hands  to  accomplish  it — for 
Briesler  was  obliged  to  be  at  the  vessel.  The  first  object  was  to 
get  fires  ; the  next  to  get  up  beds  ; but  the  cold  damp  rooms,  and 
the  new  paint,  proved  almost  too  much  for  me.  On  Friday  we 
arrived  here,  and  late  on  Saturday  evening  we  got  our  furniture  in. 
On  Sunday,  Thomas  was  laid  up  with  the  rheumatism  ; on  Monday, 
I was  obliged  to  give  Louisa  an  emetic  ; on  Tuesday,  Mrs.  Briesler 
was  taken  with  her  old  pain  ; and,  to  complete  the  whole,  on  Thurs- 
day, Polly  was  seized  with  a violent  pleuritic  fever.  She  has  been 
twice  bled,  had  a blister  on  her  side,  and  has  not  been  out  of  bed 
since,  only  as  she  is  taken  up  to  have  her  bed  made.  And  every 
day,  the  stormy  ones  excepted,  from  eleven  until  three,  the  house 
is  filled  with  ladies  and  gentlemen.  As  all  this  is  no  more  nor 
worse  than  I expected,  I bear  it  without  repining,  and  feel  thankful 
that  I have  weathered  it  out  without  a relapse,  though  some  days 
I have  not  been  able  to  sit  up.  Mrs.  Bingham  has  been  twice  to 
see  me.  I think  she  is  more  amiable  and  beautiful  than  ever.  I 
have  seen  many  very  fine  women  since  I have  been  here.  Our 
Nancy  Hamilton  is  the  same  unaffected  and  affable  girl  we  formerly 
knew  her.  She  made  many  kind  inquiries  after  you ; so  did  Mrs. 
Bingham.  I have  not  yet  begun  to  return  visits,  as  the  ladies 
expect  to  find  me  at  home,  and  I have  not  been  in  a state  of  health 
to  do  it ; nor  am  I yet  in  a very  eligible  state  to  receive  then-  visits. 
[ however  endeavored  to  have  one  room  decent,  to  receive  them, 
which,  with  my  Own  chamber,  is  as  much  as  I can  at  present  boast 
of  having  in  tolerable  order.  The  difficulty  of  getting  workmen, 
Mr.  Hamilton  pleads  as  an  excuse  for  the  house  not  being  ready. 
Mrs.  Lear  was  in  to  see  me  yesterday,  and  assures  me  that  I am 


THE  REMOVAL. 


25  < 

much  better  off  than  Mrs.  Washington  will  be  when  she  arrives, 
for  that  their  house  is  not  likely  to  be  completed  this  year.  And, 
when  all  is  done,  it  will  not  be  Broadway ! If  New  York  wanted 
any  revenge  for  the  removal,  the  citizens  might  be  glutted  if  they 
would  come  here,  where  every  article  has  risen  to  almost  double  its 
price,  and  where  it  is  not  possible  for  Congress  and  their  appendages 
for  a long  time  to  be  half  as  well  accommodated.  One  would  sup- 
pose that  the  people  thought  Mexico  was  before  them,  and  that 
the  Congress  were  its  possessors. 

“We  have  had  two  severe  storms;  the  last  was  snow.  Poor 
Mrs.  Knox  is  in  great  tribulation  about  her  furniture.  The  vessel 
sailed  the  day  before  the  first  storm,  and  had  not  been  heard  of  on 
Friday  last.  I had  a great  misfortune  happen  to  my  best  trunk  of 
clothes.  The  vessel  sprung  a leak,  and  my  trunk  got  wet,  a foot 
high,  by  which  means  I have  several  gowns  spoiled ; the  one 
you  worked  is  the  most  damaged,  and  a black  satin — the  blessed 
effects  of  tumbling  about  the  world.” 

During  all  the  autumn  the  roads  through  New  Jersey  looked 
like  a street  in  New  York  on  the  first  of  May ; but  the  removal 
was  finally  accomplished,  and  the  furniture  of  the  public  offices  and 
private  houses  was  transferred  to  the  new  metropolis.  Among 
women  Philadelphia  become  popular,  but  the  men,  especially  those 
of  the  eastern  states,  were  generally  ill  pleased  with  the  change,  and 
perhaps  little  disposed  to  look  upon  it  in  an  amiable  way.  Wol- 
cott wrote : “ The  people  of  this  state  are  very  proud  of  their  city, 
their  wealth,  and  their  supposed  knowledge.  I have  seen  many  of 
their  principal  men,  and  discover  nothing  that  tempts  me  to  idola- 
try ; I must  see  and  examine  before  I say  much,  but  I do  not  expect 
that  a more  intimate  acquaintance  will  furnish  me  with  any  self- 
humiliating  sensations.”  Mr.  James  Monroe,  whose  “ good  feeling  ” 
was  so  proverbial,  could  not  refrain  from  saying,  “ The  city  seems  at 


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present  to  be  mostly  inhabited  by  sharpers ; ” and  Mr.  Jeremiah 
Smith,  of  New  Hampshire,  remarked  in  a letter  to  his  brother, 
“The  accounts  you  have  always  had  of  this  great  and  beautiful 
city  will  blind  the  eyes  of  your  understanding,  as  they  did  mine. 
The  Philadelphians  are,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  from  the 
parson  in  his  black  gown  to  the  file  de  joie , or  girl  of  pleasure,  a 
set  of  beggars.  You  cannot  turn  round  without  paying  a dollar.” 
But  regrets  for  New  York,  and  uncivil  accusations  against  Philadel- 
phians for  making  as  much  as  they  could,  in  an  honest  way,  of  their 
victory  over  that  now  deserted  city,  gradually  subsided  and  were 
lost  in  the  more  agreeable  - excitement  of  preparing  for  the  season 
in  the  gay  world. 


LIBRARY 
01  IHf 

UNIVERSI1Y  0?  iLLiftOIS 


SOCIETY  U PHILADELPHIA. 


i. 

No  just  exhibition  can  be  given  of  American  society  in  the  days 
of  Washington,  which  does  not  present  in  considerable  fulness  a 
view  of  society  in  Philadelphia.  The  early  career  of  Washington 
was  connected  with  this  city.  Her$  was  assembled  the  Congress  of 
1776,  and  around  it,  as  around  a centre,  are  clustered  many  memo- 
ries of  the  revolution.  From  Philadelphia  the  constitution  was 
given  to  the  world.  “ Here,  most  of  all,”  to  use  the  language  of 
Mr.  Everett,  “was  the  home  of  Washington;  here  he  resided  for 
a longer  term  than  he  did  in  any  other  place,  his  own  Virginia 
alone  excepted.  Six  most  important  years  of  his  life  were  spent 
in  Philadelphia ; the  house  in  which  he  lived  is  known ; his  seat  in 
church  is  still  pointed  out;  persons  yet  survive  who  have  felt  the 
touch  of  his  hands  upon  their  childish  heads ; and  this  spot,  we 
may  well  believe,  will  be  among  the  last  where  his  memory  will 
cease  to  be  revered,  and  the  last  where  the  love  of  that  union 
and  that  constitution  which  was  so  near  to  his  great  heart,  will 
ever  be  forgotten.'”  In  the  present  chapter  I shall  therefore  de- 
scribe -with  some  particularity  this  former  metropolis  of  our  coun- 
try, its  territorial  extent  and  progress,  its  families  who  were  most 
distinguished,  its  religious  sects,  its  professions  of  divinity,  law, 


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and  medicine,  and,  so  far  as  I can,  “ sitting,”  as  Lord  Bacon  says, 
“ so  far  off,”  and  with  such  lights  as  I have,  whatever  made  up  its 
social  system. 

The  families  whose  names  appear  on  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
pages  of  this  volume,  where,  with  other  records,  I have  transcribed 
the  lists  of  the  old  “ City  Dancing  Assembly,”  still  remained  the 
principal  people  of  Philadelphia  when  the  revolution  broke  out. 
A few  adhered  to  the  British  cause,  such  as  the  Galloways,  some 
of  the  Allens,  the  Penns,  and,  I think,  several  of  the  Lawrences  and 
Bonds,  who  returned  to  England.  Others,  apparently  of  Scottish 
origin,  whose  allegiance  to  the  house  of  Hanover  was  never  very 
strong,  retired  to  then-  seats  in  the  country.  This,  I presume,  was 
the  case  with  the  Graemes,  who  resided  during  the  early  part  of 
the  war  at  Graeme  Park.  I am  not  able  to  state  from  any  records 
to  which  I have  had  access,  to  what  extent  the  respectable  family 
of  McCall  supported  the  revolutionary  cause.  Mr.  Wallace  re- 
tired to  a seat  of  his  called  Ellerslie,  in  New  Jersey,  at  which 
place,  or  at  Burlington,  his  family  remained  until  his  grandsons, 
in  IT 97,  went  back  to  their  residence  in  Philadelphia.  There  were 
other  families,  such  as  that  of  Lardner,  connected  with  the  Pro- 
prietaries, whose  movements  I have  not  been  able  to  trace.  The 
return  of  peace  brought  some  change,  of  course,  in  the  social 
structure.  A successful  revolution  had  been  accomplished.  Men 
who  before  were  but  little  known  in  the  public  or  social  sphere 
had  now  become  leaders  in  one,  and  aspired  to  be  equals  in  the 
other.  An  eccentric  loyalist  who  had  left  the  city  in  1776,  la- 
ments pathetically  on  his  return  in  1791,  that  on  looking  over  the 
Directory  he  “ scarce  knew  above  three  or  four  names  in  a hun- 
dred,” that  his  “native  country  appeared  almost  a desert,”  and 
that  “ the  upstarts  made  him  feel  too  sensibly  the  difference  be- 
tween his  present  and  former  condition.”  That  portion  of  the 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


255 


provincial  aristocracy  which  derived  its  importance  from  a connec- 
tion with  the  crown,  and  had  not  supported  the  cause  of  the  colo- 
nies, had  now,  of  course,  lost  all  its  political  authority,  and  in  the 
great  field  which  the  acknowledgment  of  independence  opened 
for  ambition  and  ability,  men  were  “ looking  into  the  seeds  of 
time  ” to  see  “ which  grain  would  grow  and  which  would  not.” 
With  all  this,  however,  any  one  acquainted  with  the  state  of  so- 
ciety in  Philadelphia  after  the  revolution,  will  perceive  that  its 
distinctions  rested  essentially  on  the  old  foundations.  The  old 
names  had  still,  as  they  have  to-day,  though  associated  with  very 
little  merit  of  any  kind  in  some  who  bear  them,  a prestige  which 
was  socially  of  dominant  influence.  And  on  the  whole  it  was  well 
deserved.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  the  city  was  character- 
ized by  a style  of  life  quite  as  elegant  as  any  which  has  since  pre- 
vailed, and  much  more  elegant  and  liberal  than  any  which 
prevails  now.  It  was  the  elegance  of  dignity,  moral  worth,  and 
the  consciousness  of  gentility.  Its  wealth,  indeed,  was  chiefly 
commercial,  but  its  commerce  was  of  a different  kind  from  that 
of  the  present  age.  The  “infamous  practice  of  stock  jobbing,” 
as  it  is  justly  called  in  the  statutes  of  England,  had  not  diffused 
itself  through  the  ramifications  of  trade,  or  been  generally  and 
shamelessly  indulged.  Commerce,  originating  in  its  true  spirit, 
and  pursued  according  to  the  rules  of  a high  moral  integrity,  was 
the  vocation  of  the  Willings,  the  Francises,  and  the  McCalls.  It 
brought  not  less  generous  nor  less  sure  returns  than  that  of 
modern  dealers ; but  its  wealth,  less  suddenly  acquired  and  less 
generally  diffused,  had  that  honorable  source,  that  repose  of 
character,  and  that  stability  of  endurance,  which  renders  wealth 
more  valuable  for  the  respectability  it  imparts  than  as  a means  of 
material  luxury. 

It  is  true  that  the  limits  of  the  city,  even  as  late  as  the  period 


250 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


of  Washington’s  administration,  were  very  narrow  m comparison 
with  those  which  now  bound  its  compactly  built  area.  Front, 
Second,  Third,  and  Fourth  streets,  on  the  Delaware  side,  were  its 
principal  avenues,  and  it  did  not  from  any  point  extend  much 
west  of  Sixth  street. 

The  city  began  near  where  the  navy  yard  is  now,  and  gradually 
extended  north  along  the  river.  It  is  customary  to  speak  of  its 
immense  growth  toward  the  north-west  as  modern.  In  the  main 
it  is  so.  But  Callowhill  street,  which  was  named  by  Penn  after 
his  second  wife,  was  one  of  its  earliest  thoroughfares,  and  some  of 
the  oldest  houses  in  the  city  are  in  this  very  northern  district. 
The  extension  towards  the  Schuylkill  has  been  more  recent.  At 
the  close  of  the  last  century  society  and  fashion  were  still  upon 
the  Delaware.  Just  before  the  revolution,  Chief  Justice  Allen’s 
residence  was  on  the  east  side  of  Water  street,  below  Market. 
Mr.  Joseph  Sims,  a merchant  of  extensive  business,  who  built  at 
a later  date  the  noble  residence  now  occupied  by  his  niece,  Mrs.  E. 
S.  Burd,  on  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut,  was  living  between 
sixty  and  seventy  years  ago  in  Third  below  Pine.  Mr.  Alexander 
J.  Dallas,  a dashing  young  lawyer  who,  without  any  property,  had 
come  hither  from  the  West  Indies  to  try  his  fortune,  was  in  Front 
above  Pine.  The  Stockers,  Philipses,  Barclays,  and  other  mer- 
chants of  great  respectability,  though  not  of  high  fashion,  were  in 
Front  not  far  from  Pine ; Mr.  Swanwick,  for  some  years  the  part- 
ner of  Thomas  Willing  and  of  Robert  Morris,  lived,  I think,  in  Penn 
street ; Colonel  Thomas  Lloyd  Moore,  a military  gentleman  well 
known  in  the  gay  world  of  that  day,  — a son  of  William  Moore, 
President  of  Pennsylvania  — in  Pine  above  Second ; some  of  the 
older  Binghams,  I believe,  not  far  from  the  same  now  busy  region ; 
the  Reverend  Doctor  Blackwell,  in  the  large  house  in  Pine  below 
Third,  still  standing;  Chief  Justice  McKean  nearly  opposite,  at 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


257 


the  northeast  corner  of  Pine  and  Third;  Mr.  Ross,  a merchant 
of  eminence  whom  I mention  elsewhere  as  proprietor  of  a beauti- 
ful country  seat  called  the  Grange,  had  erected  for  his  residence 
the  very  large  house  at  the  corner  of  Second  and  Pine  ; Mr.  J ohn 
Beale  Borclley,  with  his  accomplished  daughter,  afterwards  Mrs. 
James  Gibson,  in  Union,  near  Third ; the  McCalls,  in  Second,  near 
Pine ; Mr.  Phillips,  an  English  gentleman,  of  social  distinction,  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  Spruce  and  Third;  General  Walter  Stew- 
art, at  one  time,  in  the  aristocratic  mansion  afterwards  occupied  by 
Mr.  Camac,  and  more  recently  by  Mr.  Peter,  the  British  consul, 
in  Third,  below  Spruce  ; Mrs.  Bingham,  Mrs.  Powell,  Chief  Jus- 
tice Chew,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Willing,  in  Third  above  Spruce ; Mrs. 
Harrison  (then  lately  Miss  Sophia  Francis),  opposite;  Bell’s  British 
Book  Shop,  the  fashionable  literary  mart  of  the  day,  was  in  Third 
near  Pear ; Judge  Wilson  lived  in  “ Wilson’s  House,”  or  “ Fort 
Wilson,”  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut,  — the 
grounds  extending  far  down  Third ; Andrew  Hamilton,  who  had 
married  Miss  Franks,  a Jewess  of  some  celebrity,  at  the  northwest 
corner,  opposite  ; Doctor  Rush  was  in  Walnut,  near  Third ; Chief 
Justice  Shippen  in  Fourth  below  Walnut ; Doctor  William  Ship- 
pen  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Fourth  and  Prime ; and  Mr. 
Charles  Biddle,  vice  president  of  the  state,  and  father  of  the  late 
accomplished  Mr.  Nicholas  Biddle,  in  Chestnut  above  Fourth. 
Louis  Philippe  d’Orleans  lodged,  at  one  period,  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Front  and  Callowhill ; Talleyrand,  for  a short  time,  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  and,  with  the  Duke  de  Liancourt,  Volney, 
and  Moreau  de  St.  Mery,  was  taught  English  by  William  Cobbett, 
at  the  house  of  a French  merchant  in  Front  below  Market.  Cob- 
bett himself  resided  in  Callowhill  above  Second.  The  post  office, 
kept  by  Mr.  Patten,  was  in  Front  near  Chestnut,  and  the  Treasury 

of  the  United  States,  during  Mr.  Wolcot’s  time,  in  Chestnut  above 

33 


258 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Third.  General  Hamilton  lived,  I think,  in  Market  above  Third. 
Doctor  Franklin,  as  is  well-known,  owned  nearly  a square,  in  this 
vicinity ; the  entrance  to  his  house  being  by  a court,  from  Market 
street,  and  his  gardens  running  back  all  the  way  to  Chestnut.  In- 
deed until  1793  Market  street,  from  Third  to  Fourth,  was  yet  open 
ground.  The  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  Charles 
Thompson,  then  a teacher  there,  had  been  summoned  by  the  Con- 
gress of  1776  to  be  the  Secretary  of  that  body,  was  in  Fourth 
above  Market ; and  here,  about  this  time,  in  an  upper  room,  Noah 
Webster,  as  a tutor  of  the  college,  was  teaching  with  humble 
fidelity  the  elements  of  English. 

Quite  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  too,  were  all  the  places  of 
worship,  and  the  courts  of  justice.  Christ  Church  and  St.  Peter' ’s, 
now  a Sabbath  day’s  journey  from  the  homes  of  those  who  still 
cling  to  the  places  where  their  fathers  worshipped,  were  then  in 
the  centre  of  fashion.  The  church  of  the  Presbyterian  aristocracy 
of  that  day,  “ Old  Buttonwood,”  as  it  was  commonly  called,  from 
a range  of  ancient  sycamores  which  grew  along  its  front,  was 
in  Market  street  near  Second.  The  great  German  Lutheran 
church,  afterwards  destroyed  by  fire,  to  which  Mr.  Muhlenberg, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  had  given  a noble  organ, 
(as  the  best  means,  it  was  alleged,  of  securing  the  votes  of  his 
musical  countrymen,)  was  in  Fourth  near  Cherry.  Of  the  Friends’ 
meeting  houses  I need  say  but  little.  Quite  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  town  sixty  years  ago,  they  remain  there  still,  or  have  dis- 
appeared altogether.  They  have  never  at  any  time  gone  with 
fashion.  The  first  Baptist  church,  a secession  from  which  gave  to 
the  architecture  of  Philadelphia  the  circular  edifice  in  which  Doc- 
tor Stoughton  preached,  in  George  street,  still  stands  iu  a recess 
from  the  southwest  corner  of  Arch  and  Second,  surrounded  now 
by  lofty  warehouses,  and  invisible  from  the  streets : an  enduring 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


259 


though  deserted  monument  of  the  liberality  of  the  denomination. 
The  sect  of  Socinus,  notwithstanding  the  eminence  of  Doctor 
Priestley,  had  not  in  the  days  of  Washington  any  considerable 
distinction  in  Philadelphia.*  The  court  house  in  which  William 
Bradford,  Ingersoll,  and  the  elder  Sargeant,  laid  the  foundations 
of  them  professional  fame,  was  over  the  market  place  at  the  cross- 
ing of  Market  and  Second  streets.  At  the  Third  street  extremity 
of  this  square  stood  the  pillory,  in  which,  until  the  humane  efforts 
of  the  first  named  of  these  eminent  persons  had  procured  that 
beneficent  change  in  the  criminal  code  of  America  which  com- 
mends his  name  to  enduring  gratitude,  convicts  stood  to  be  pelted 
by  the  populace  with  eggs,  or  whipped,  with  lashes  on  their  naked 
backs,  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday. 

Mr.  Stille,  for  many  years  the  only  considerable  tailor  of  the 
city,  had  been  in  Front  street  near  Chestnut ; and  although  with 
the  arrival  of  Congress,  and  the  influx  of  foreigners  from  the  revo- 
lutions in  France  and  St.  Domingo,  style  and  fashion,  which  then 
first  made  a strong  invasion  on  the  quaker  cuts  and  colors  of  Phila- 
delphia costume,  introduced  the  well-known  Charles  C.  Watson,  an 
artist  of  higher  style,  even  he  did  not  venture  to  advance  further 
west  than  Chestnut  below  Third.  When  he  died  there,  a few 

* The  late  Bishop  White  used,  by  way  of  showing  the  impolicy  of  religious  persecution,  to  tell 
this  anecdote  in  regard  to  the  rise  and  progress  of  Unitarianism  in  Philadelphia  : The  sect  was 
founded  in  Philadelphia  so  far  hack  as  the  time  of  Dr.  Priestley,  but  never  made  much  progress 
beyond  holding  meetings  in  a small  room  in  Cherry  Alley.  But  Dr.  Priestley  being  a man  of  mark, 
one  of  the  Trinitarian  divines  opened  a long  continued  and  severe  attack  upon  the  new  association. 
Many  years  after  this  the  Unitarian  body  applied  to  the  legislature  for  a charter.  When  the  bill 
came  up  in  committee  some  member  asked, 

“ Who  are  these  Unitarians?  ” 

“ They  were  an  obscure  sect,”  replied  one  of  the  persons  interested  in  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
“ who  used  to  hold  forth  in  Cherry  Alley ; and  we  should  have  been  there  yet  but  for  the  Rev- 
erend Doctor 

“ Indeed,”  said  the  member,  “ is  Dr. inclined  that  way  ? I am  surprised.” 

“ He  is  not  at  all  so,”  was  the  response,  “ but  we  were  very  poor,  — utterly  unknown,  and 
making  no  converts,  till  he  began  to  fulminate  at  us,  when  several  members  of  his  own  parish 
hunted  us  out,  and,  being  pleased  with  us,  never  went  back  to  him.” 


260 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


years  ago,  he  had  long  been  left  “ high  and  dry  ” by  the  receding 
tides  of  fashion,  which  had  swept  entirely  past  him  toward  the 
Schuylkill.  Oellers,  who  had  converted  the  college  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  Chestnut  just  above  Sixth,  into  the  City  Hotel,  had  gone 
much  further  in  the  same  direction  for  1795,  than  the  proprietors 
of  the  La  Pierre  have  since  done  in  going  nearly  a mile  beyond 
him  into  Broad  street. 

In  1192  Mr.  George  Clymer  had  built  the  small  but  tasteful 
residence  in  Chestnut  street  below  Seventh,  afterwards  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Sophia  Harrison.  The  President  and  Mr.  Robert  Morris 
had  led  the  line  of  fashion  into  Market  or  High  street ; and  Mr. 
Boudinot,  recently  appointed  by  Washington  Director  of  the 
Mint,  (the  office  of  which  he  had  established  in  Seventh  street 
below  Arch,)  with  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  William  Bradford,  then  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  had  gone  so  far  in  advance  of  every 
thing  as  to  begin  the  erection  of  his  residence  (afterwards  occupied 
by  Mr.  T.  Cadwalader,)  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Arch  and 
Ninth.  This  however  was  the  extreme  west,  and  on  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  Attorney  Generalship,  Mr.  Bradford,  I have  under- 
stood, found  himself  so  remote  from  the  daily  walk  of  the  public 
that  he  was  obliged  to  come  back  to  Market  below  Sixth.  Mr.  J. 
D.  Sergeant,  a lawyer  of  eminence,  resided  in  a fine  house  which 
he  had  built  in  Arch  above  Sixth,  near  the  site  of  the  present 
Arch  Street  Theatre. 

In  1193,  and  long  after,  Washington  Square  was  the  Potters1 
Field ; Independence  Square  was  scarcely  enclosed,  and  had  at 
least  one  wooden  structure  on  the  Walnut  street  side  of  it ; Chest- 
nut street  was  not  paved  above  Sixth,  and  from  Sixth  to  Eighth, 
and  from  Walnut  to  Chestnut,  the  lots  were  almost  entirely  va- 
cant. Mr.  Breck,  in  building  about  this  time  his  house  on  the 
north  side  of  Market,  near  Eighth,  had  the  whole  square  to 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


261 


Chestnut  street  open  before  him.  And  except  a large  structure 
on  the  south  side  of  Market,  above  Ninth,  built  by  a Santa  Cruz 
merchant  named  Markoe,  then  so  distant  and  lonely  as  to  be 
known  only  as  “ Markoe’s  house,”  the  ultima  thule  of  a fashionable 
promenade,  with  another  house,  perhaps,  built  by  Dunlap  the 
printer,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Market  streets, 
this  last-named  street,  which  was  then  in  advance  of  every  street 
runDing  westward,  had  not  a residence  of  any  note  whatever  upon 
it.  In  June,  1795,  Mr.  Bradford,  the  attorney  general,  who,  with 
his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Wallace,  then  residing  at  Burlington,  in 
New  Jersey,  were  the  owners  of  large  lots  about  Arch  and  Ninth 
streets,  writes  to  him  in  a letter  which  is  among  the  papers  of  the 
Historical  Society,  “ I should  be  glad  if  you  would  leave  your 
classics  and  your  greenhouse  long  enough  to  ’look  after  your 
interests  in  this  city.  I am  anxious  to  confer  with  you.  The  city 
begins  to  make  its  way  in  this  direction,  but  we  own  so  much  va 
cant  ground  hereabouts  that  we  fairly  arrest  its  progress,  to  our 
own  injury.  We  must  not  hold  too  long,  or  we  shall  turn  the  tide 
of  improvement  elsewhere.”  An  ancient  house  still  standing  on 
the  east  side  of  Eighth  above  Locust  street,  built  in  1787,  I 
think  by  a son  of  the  eccentric  Mrs.  Duncan,  known  as  the  foun- 
dress of  a votive  church,  and  a yet  finer  structure  which  has  long 
since  given  way  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Eleventh  and  Spruce,  were  in  the  city’s 
presidential  era  regarded  almost  as  country  places. 

It  is  obvious  from  these  details  that  Philadelphia,  now  grown 
to  such  vast  dimensions,  covered  in  that  period  but  a small  surface. 
With  a few  exceptions,  its  whole  business,  society  and  fashion  was 
east  of  Sixth  street,  and  much  or  most  of  it  east  of  Fourth  street. 
At  the  same  time  the  style  of  the  better  houses  was  often  more 
elegant  than  that  now  prevailing.  They  were  in  better  taste. 


262 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Their  fronts  were  generally  plain,  and  not  made  like  so  many  of 
the  ornamented,  overcharged  and  heavy  facades  of  the  present 
day,  only  to  show  “ how  many  tastes  ” their  owners  — “ wanted.” 
Their  ground  surface  was  generally  much  wider,  the  passage  and 
stairways  far  more  imposing,  the  grounds  behind  and  around  them 
more  spacious,  free  and  airy,  and  the  subject  of  much  greater  at- 
tention than  is  possible  with  the  style  of  domestic  architecture  now 
prevalent ; with  which,  upon  narrow  lots,  houses  with  ranges  of 
rear  buildings  exclude  at  once  the  vital  elements  of  light  and  air, 
and  an  enjoyment  which,  whenever  attained,  to  a person  of  deli- 
cate sense  seems  hardly  less  vital,  the  fragrance  and  beauty  of  fo- 
liage and  flowers.  Any  one  who  will  look  at  the  fine  structures  in 
Front  below  Pine  street,  now  converted  into  seamen’s  lodging 
houses ; at  those  in  Third  from  Spruce  to  Arch ; or  at  those  in 
Chestnut  below  Fifth,  now  occupied  by  the  fashionable  shopkeep- 
ers, Bailey,  Levy,  Caldwell,  and  others,  will  see  that  in  point  of 
size,  solidity,  comfort,  and  effect,  the  better  houses  of  that  day 
were  quite  equal  and  in  some  cases  much  superior  to  the  better 
houses  of  this.  And  these  ancient  houses,  it  must  be  remembered, 
we  see  in  a decayed  and  disfigured  condition,  mutilated  of  much 
of  their  embellishment,  and,  most  of  all,  deprived  by  more  recent 
structures  of  the  grounds,  both  on  the  sides  and  in  the  rear,  which 
once  gave  them  peculiar  dignity  and  elegance.  These  houses 
looked  less  like  the  rows  of  tall,  slight,  narrow  and  uniform  ware- 
houses, in  which  commercial  economy  has  attempted  to  unite  the 
greatest  product  of  brick  with  the  least  outlay  of  money  and  the 
exhibition  of  the  most  vicious  taste.  They  told  their  own  story 
to  every  one  who  saw  them,  and  appeared  to  be,  as  they  were,  the 
homes  of  well-bred  and  unostentatious  gentlemen,  who  planted 
and  built  for  themselves  and  their  posterity. 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


263 


II. 

In  that  day  there  were  no  locomotives,  and  the  whole  world 
did  not  in  summer  move  in  masses  to  the  sea  or  mountain,  there  in 
masses  to  remain,  till  in  masses  they  returned.  Rural  or  suburban 
residences  belonged  to  almost  every  man  of  any  importance  in 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Burke  considered  that  much  of  the  misgovern- 
ment  of  France  arose  from  the  too  hard  work  of  the  legislators. 
“ In  England,”  he  said,  “ we  cannot  work  so  hard  as  Frenchmen. 
They  who  always  labor  can  have  no  true  judgment.  You  never 
give  yourselves  time  to  cool.  You  can  never  plan  the  future  by 
the  past.  You  never  go  into  the  country .”  Who  that  looks  at 
the  mercantile  life  of  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  doubts  that  the 
constant  “ stoppages,”  by  which  mild  name  failures  and  bankrupt- 
cies have  come  to  be  styled  in  the  vocabulary  which  has  usurped 
the  language  of  drawing-rooms,  are  because  men  “ work  too  hard  ” 
— never  give-  themselves  “time  to  cool,”  never  “go  into  the 
country.” 

Philadelphia  was  a centre  round  which,  on  every  side  but  that 
of  the  Delaware,  the  rural  seats  of  her  merchants  and  gentry  were 
studded.  And  they  were  matters  of  the  greatest  pride  with  them. 
On  the  north  was  the  country  house  of  one  of  the  ancient  judges 
of  the  Common  Pleas.  It  seems  to  have  been  among  his  dearest 
earthly  possessions.  Hear  how  he  speaks  of  it  in  his  last  will : 
“ Whereas  the  said  place  has  been  some  employment  to  me,  in 
contriving,  building  and  improvement  thereon,  and  as  the  situation 
seems  to  carry  prospect  of  advancement,  although  as  the  circum- 
stances of  my  family  and  estate  stand  at  present,  I cannot  think  it 
convenient  and  proper  to  give  it  to  any  one  of  my  sons,  — yet  as 
it  would  be  a pleasure  to  me  while  living  to  think  that  any  sober, 
religious,  and  careful  descendant  of  mine  might  enjoy  it,  I do 


264 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


hereby  direct  my  executors  to  give  to  any  such,  my  descendant,  the 
preference,  who  may  be  desirous  and  able  to  purchase  it.” 

The  comfortable  seat  of  Mr.  Roberts,  a quaker,  on  the  Point 
road,  with  its  avenues  of  pine  trees,  the  admiration  of  every  one ; 
Rose  Hill,  the  country  residence  of  Mr.  Boudinot,  and  the  scene 
of  the  country  hospitality  of  his  distinguished  daughter,  Mrs. 
William  Bradford ; Commodore  Barry’s,  not  far  oh’  made  interest- 
ing and  memorable  as  the  summer  house  of  General  Hamilton,  who 
rented  and  occupied  it  during  a part  of  his  administrative  life  in 
Philadelphia ; Cliveden,  further  west,  the  rural  home  of  Chief 
Justice  Chew,  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants;  and  Laurel 
Hill,  since  converted  by  speculators  into  a cemetery,  which  con- 
tinues to  bear  this  name,  but,  at  the  time  I am  speaking  of,  the 
hospitable  retreat  during  the  warmer  months  of  Mr.  Joseph  Sims, 
whose  city  life  was  illustrated  with  an  elegance*  never  equalled  in 
Philadelphia  except  by  that  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  were  all  known  for 
various  charms  to  the  more  refined  and  distinguished  society  of  the 
town. 

The  beautiful  place  of  Mr.  Robert  Morris  was  called  The 
Hills.  Part  of  it  remains  known  to  this  generation  as  Lemon 
Hill,  and  part  as  Fairmount.  It  was  laid  out  by  Mr.  Morris,  who 
built  a very  large  house  upon  it,  with  approaches  from  the  rear, 
the  principal  front  looking  down  upon  the  Schuylkill.  It  was 
ornamented  with  extensive  greenhouses,  and  a fish  pond,  stocked 
with  gold  fish.  It  was  from  the  breaking  of  the  bank  of  this  pond, 
and  the  escape  into  the  Schuylkill  of  the  finny  tribe  who  inhabited 
it,  that  gold  fish  have  since  been  so  frequently  found  in  this  river, 
and  that  we  often  hear  it  announced  by  their  captors  that  the  gold 
fish  is  a native  of  Pennsylvania  waters.  It  is  a denizen,  but  not  a 

* I have  understood  from  good  authority  that  the  value  of  Mr.  Sims’s  silver  plate  exceeded  twenty 
thousand  dollars.  Is  there  any  one  in  Philadelphia  who  now  owns  as  much  ? 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


265 


native.  The  Hills  became,  in  the  conclusion  of  their  public  his- 
tory, interesting  as  the  scene  of  Mr.  Morris’s  confinement,  when 
the  barbarous  laws  which  then  allowed  arrest  and  imprisonment 
for  debt  drove  him,  on  the  termination  of  his  affairs,  to  seek  shel- 
ter from  ultimate  proceedings  in  the  privilege  of  the  law  which 
declares  that  “ every  man’s  house  is  his  castle.”  Mr.  Morris  never 
spent  much  time  here  in  his  prosperous  days.  His  town  house  was 
the  scene  of  constant  hospitalities.  He  withdrew  to  this  country 
resort  in  March,  1797,  to  avoid  the  final  process  from  the  preceding 
judicial  terms  of  September  and  December,  1796.  The  sheriff  of 
Philadelphia,  Mr.  Baker,  was  supposed  to  have  committed  himself, 
and  to  have  made  his  bail  responsible,  in  allowing  the  defendant 
to  go  at  large  when  it  would  have  been  easy  to  arrest  him ; and 
some  of  those  who  had  suffered  most  by  Mr.  Morris’s  transactions, 
or  who  bore  their  losses  with  least  equanimity,  determined  to  press 
their  suit  against  this  officer  and  his  sureties.  It  therefore  became 
very  important  for  him  to  confer  with  Mr.  Morris  as  to  the  means 
of  his  defence,  and  Mr.  Morris,  who  with  the  feelings  of  an  honor- 
able man  was  desirous  of  relieving  him  from  a responsibility  which 
humanity  alone  had  imposed  upon  him,  received  Mr.  Baker  at  The 
Hills  on  condition  that  he  would  bring  no  process  with  him. 
Here,  on  a stormy  day  in  March,  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia  and 
the  great  financier  of  the  revolution  were  closeted  together.  Mr. 
Baker  was  faithful  to  his  engagement  and  attempted  no  arrest.  It 
is  painful  to  add  that  Mr.  Morris  was  finally  apprehended  by  his 
own  bail,  upon  a “ bail-piece,”  the  privilege  of  a man’s  house  not 
being  held  to  extend  against  bail. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  about  seven  miles  from 
town,  was  The  Grange,  the  noble  seat  of  Mr.  Ross,  an  opulent 
merchant.  Belmont,  still  known  as  Belmont  Farm,  and  now  a 

principal  dairy  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  ancient  and  aristocratic 
34 


266 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


residence  of  Judge  Peters,  and.  the  best  representative  of  an  old 
fashioned  English  seat  that  ever  existed  near  the  city.  Its  noble 
trees  had  been  planted  by  an  earlier  generation  of  the  family,  and 
even  before  the  revolution  were  venerable  for  their  age.  This  was 
a frequent  and  favorite  resort  of  Washington,  who  in  its  pleasing 
shades  and  in  the  easy  disposition  and  sprightly  parts  of  its  owner, 
and  especially  in  that  gentleman’s  agricultural  tastes,  enjoyed  with 
a peculiar  relish  the  little  leisure  which  the  affairs  of  state  allowed 
him.  Lower  down  the  river,  and  nearly  opposite  to  Fairmount, 
was  Solitude,  the  quiet  home  of  one  of  the  John  Penns.  It  was 
a sweetly  sequestered  spot,  the  property  of  a very  modest  and 
retiring  bachelor,  whose  literary  tastes  were  here  indulged  in  effu- 
sions which  at  a later  period  were  given  to  the  public,  in  London, 
in  two  volumes  from  the  press  of  Bulmer.  Their  elegance  of 
paper,  typography,  and  engraving,  have  not,  however,  saved  them 
from  the  fate  which  attends  mediocrity  of  poetic  genius.  One  of 
these  volumes  contains  an  engraving  of  Solitude. 

On  the  same  side,  further  south,  was  Lansdowne,  originally 
owned  by  another  John  Penn,  much  better  known  to  the  society 
of  that  day,  and  who,  wiser  than  his  celibitary  kinsman,  had  hon- 
ored one  of  the  Misses  Allen  with  the  proprietary  name.  Lans- 
downe was  a fine  estate  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Penn,  who  built  upon 
it  a noble  mansion ; but  its  pre-eminence  belonged  to  the  epoch  of 
Washington’s  administration,  when,  on  Mr.  Penn’s  retirement  to 
England,  the  entire  property  passed  into  the  ownership  of  Mr. 
Bingham.  Extensive  improvements  of  every  kind  were  then  made, 
as  well  in  the  principal  edifice  as  in  the  greenhouses,  stables,  and 
other  accessories.  Lansdowne,  while  Philadelphia  was  the  metrop- 
olis, was  owned  by  Mrs.  Bingham,  and  in  extent  and  variety  ap- 
proached more  nearly  to  the  seats  of  some  of  the  English  nobility 
than  any  other  place  perhaps  in  the  country. 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


267 


The  Woodlands,  now,  like  Laurel  Hill,  converted  into  a resting 
place  for  the  dead,  was  a very  charming  spot.  It  extended  down 
to  the  edge  of  the  river,  and  the  landscape  has  been  frequently 
represented  by  artists.  It  belonged  to  the  Hamiltons,  who  styled 
themselves,  somewhat  pretentiously,  though  very  appropriately,  if 
I am  correct  in  supposing  that  their  earlier  history  was  obscure, 
“ The  Hamilton  family  of  the  Woodlands  and  Bush  Hill.”  Mr. 
William  Hamilton,  who  built  the  house  and  decorated  the  grounds, 
was  a man  of  great  taste  in  such  matters,  and  embellished  his 
beautiful  mansion  with  such  paintings  and  other  works  of  art  as 
were  attainable  in  that  day.  His  table  was  the  frequent  resort  of 
artists  and  bon  vivants  of  different  kinds,  of  whom  he  entertained 
a good  many  at  dinner,  usually  selecting  Sunday  as  his  day  of  in- 
dulgence. 

Of  Graeme  Park,  frequented  by  the  educated  gentry,  a few 
miles  southwest  of  the  city,  I have  written  elsewhere,*  in  a me- 
moir of  its  proprietress,  Mrs.  Ferguson.  Willington,  the  country 
residence  of  Mr.  Thomas  Willing,  was  upon  what  is  now  upper 
Broad  street.  A part  of  it  is  still  covered  with  the  trees  planted 
there  by  its  honored  proprietor,  and  is  the  same  property  which, 
under  the  name  of  the  Gratz  estate,  it  was  proposed  in  1854  to 
convert  into  a public  park.  When,  having  named  these  places, 
we  refer  to  the  comfortable  domicil  of  the  ancient  and  excellent 
quaker  family,  the  Pembertons,  on  the  grounds  now  occupied  by 
the  Marine  Hospital  of  the  United  States ; to  Andalusia,  about 
fourteen  miles  up  the  Delaware,  thus  named,  in  recognition  of 
his  large  and  honorable  success  in  Spanish  commerce,  by  Mr. 
Craig,  its  owner,  from  whom  it  passed  to  Mrs.  Nicholas  Biddle,  I 
have  mentioned  the  chief  suburban  residences  of  the  time,  though 
not  at  all  the  numerous  small  and  plainer  places,  like  Mr.  Lard- 


In  my  “ Female  Poets  of  America. 


268 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ner’s,  further  down  the  river,  Mr.  Ball’s,  at  Richmond,  and  many 
others,  of  no  historical  importance.  They  all,  however,  contributed 
to  give  a peculiar  character  to  the  society  of  that  time. 

III. 

Some  account  should  be  given  of  the  learned  professions.  At 
the  head  of  the  clergy  stood  Dr.  White,  as  he  was  commonly 
called,  the  well  known  first  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  church  in 
Pennsylvania.  His  ecclesiastical  character  has  in  recent  times  been 
greatly  mistaken  by  both  the  extreme  high  and  the  extreme  low 
divisions  of  his  own  denomination.  He  was  what  in  England  would 
be  called  a low  churchman,  as  distinguished  from  the  ultra  school 
of  Laud  and  Philpotts,  but  was  very  far  removed  from  what  have 
been  called  low  churchmen  in  this  country.  Even  in  his  day,  when 
the  Episcopal  church  was  extremely  feeble,  and  concessions,  and 
compromises  with  other  denominations,  were  matters  to  which  the 
temptations  were  extreme,  Bishop  White  defined  what  he  regarded 
as  the  just  limits  of  both,  with  a distinctness  and  precision  which 
have  made  them  their  safest  limits  since.  To  him,  and  to  his 
moderate  views  and  conciliatory  temper,  we  must  ascribe  the  fact 
that  while  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  of  England,  and  the 
very  name  of  bishop,  had  become  odious  in  this  country,  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  America  departed  so  very  little  in 
form,  while  departing  not  at  all  in  doctrine,  from  the  established 
church  in  England.  As  a preacher,  he  was  earnest  and  persuasive, 
but  he  seldom  fulminated  threats  or  judgments,  and  had  very  de- 
cided views  of  the  limits  of  clerical  duty.  He  shrunk  from  no 
proper  responsibility,  but  he  had  too  high  a sense  of  courtesy,  and 
too  just  a regard  for  even  the  most  delicate  of  rights,  to  invade 
with  freedom  the  atmosphere  which  every  gentleman  feels  and  ac- 
knowledges as  a proper  circle  for  himself  and  others.  He  was  the 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


269 


man  of  his  time  for  his  position.  His  prudence  saved  what  the 
zeal  of  others  would  have  lost,  and  in  the  midst  of  political  and 
ecclesiastical  difficulties  of  the  most  discouraging  kind,  he  founded 
that  establishment  which  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  majes- 
tic structures  of  the  religion  of  the  republic.  His  character  will 
grow  larger  as  the  perspective  becomes  more  truly  fixed  by  time, 
and  if  it  were  separated  from  religious  parties,  posterity  would 
probably  place  his  name  after  only  the  names  of  Washington, 
Marshall,  and  Hamilton.  He  belonged  to  the  same  order  of  men, 
differing  but  in  the  sphere  of  his  action  from  either. 

The  chief  associate  of  Bishop  White  in  the  ministry  was  Dr. 
Robert  Blackwell,  a scholarly  and  sensible  preacher  of  the  English 
university  cast.  His  sermons,  of  the  homiletical  kind,  were  like 
those  of  the  higher  class  of  the  English  clergy  in  the  last  century, 
calculated  for  educated  and  thoughtful  hearers  more  than  to 
arouse  an  indifferent  or  slumbering  congregation.  Possessing 
family  rank,  most  agreeable  manners,  and  a very  large  fortune, 
and  being  withal  a man  of  unquestioned  piety,  and  great  propriety 
of  life,  he  maintained  a dignified  position,  and  was  extensively  de- 
ferred to  by  an  opulent  and  worldly  class  who  would  probably 
have  deferred  to  no  one  else,  less  blessed  with  adventitious  in- 
fluence. 

Dr.  James  Abercrombie  of  a somewhat  later  date  — from  1794 
— made  a conspicuous  figure,  and  by  many  is  still  well  remem- 
bered. Educated  for  the  liberal  professions,  he  had  been  engaged 
in  commerce  in  Philadelphia ; and  though  in  relinquishing  a lucra- 
tive business  for  “ the  order  of  poverty,”  as  well  as  by  the  general 
course  of  his  life,  he  had  given  unquestionable  proofs  of  his  ear- 
nestness, a certain  fondness  for  convivial  pleasure,  and  a high  tone 
both  of  ecclesiastical  and  political  sentiment,  caused  his  sincerity 
to  be  sometimes  doubted  by  persons  who  looked  no  deeper  than 


270 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  surface  of  things.  Following  the  occasional  practice  of  the 
English  clergy  of  the  last  century  — an  example  which  Bishop 
White  himself  apparently  did  not  disapprove  — he  had  once  or 
twice  visited  the  theatre,  on  “ the  author’s  night,”  which  caused 
scandal  among  many  who  every  day  of  their  lives  may  have  done 
something  much  worse.  Then  his  aversion  to  the  infidel  senti- 
ments suspected  to  be  held  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  made  him  at  a later 
period  very  reluctant  to  read  the  prayers  for  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  prescribed  in  the  Episcopal  ritual ; and  when  in- 
formed by  his  diocesan  that  it  was  not  a matter  in  the  least  discre- 
tionary with  him,  he  comforted  his  federal  friends  with  the 
assurance  that  he  had  not  “ prayed,”  but  only  “ read  ” them. 
Not  content  with  provoking  the  democrats,  he  had,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  involved  himself  in  trouble  with  the  aristocracy  of 
his  parish,  by  his  strict  and  manly  adherence  to  what  he  deemed 
his  duty,  prescribed  by  the  canons  and  rubrics  of  his  church.  His 
celebration  of  the  marriage  of  William  Penn,  an  eccentric  great- 
grandson  of  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  attracted  a great  deal 
of  attention.  This  gentleman  deemed  it  proper  to  address  a 
woman  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  but  whose  course  of  life,  not 
less  than  her  origin  and  associations,  rendered  it  impossible  for 
his  friends  of  either  sex  to  recognize  her  as  his  wife.  Almost  any 
other  of  the  clergy  would  have  refused,  on  grounds  of  prudential 
regard  to  their  own  interests,  to  perform  the  marriage  office,  under 
circumstances  so  peculiar ; but  Dr.  Abercrombie,  having  used  in 
vain  all  suitable  endeavors  to  persuade  Mr.  Penn  from  so  fatal  a 
connection,  and  finding  that  there  was  no  legal  or  canonical  im- 
pediment, married  them,  considering  himself  bound  as  a Christian 
minister  to  do  so.  The  excitement  however  became  so  great,  and 
his  popularity  was  so  much  in  danger  of  being  affected  by  it,  that 
he  was  obliged  to  defend  himself  in  a pamphlet  — “ Documents 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


271 


relative  to  the  Celebration  of  a late  Marriage  ” — to  the  principles 
of  which  Bishop  White  gave  his  entire  approval.  There  can  be 
no  donbt,  I think,  that  Dr.  Abercrombie  was  right,  and  evinced 
that  a sense  of  duty  was  the  controlling  influence  of  his  conduct ; 
and  the  approval  of  what  he  had  done,  by  Bishop  White,  is  a 
fact  worth  recording,  as  the  clergy  are  often  called  on  to  act  in  cases 
like  that  here  referred  to,  though  not  often  in  quite  as  strong  ones. 

The  three  divines  I have  named  were  ministers  of  the  united 
parishes  of  Christ  church  and  St.  Peter’s,  which  were  the  aristo- 
cratic churches  and  congregations  of  the  time.  At  the  former  the 
President  with  his  aids  attended  with  regularity  on  every  Sunday 
morning.* 

At  Christ  church  were  the  Allens,  Harrisons,  Whites,  McCalls, 
Swifts,  Cadwalladers,  Cunninghams,  Tilghmans,  and  others  of  simi- 
lar consideration.  St.  Peter’s,  perhaps,  as  the  newest  parish,  had 
the  most  fashionable  congregation  of  the  time.  Here  the  vestry 
provided  pews  for  two  of  the  secretaries  of  departments,  and  here 
the  Binghams,  Franceses,  Blackwells,  Willings,  Powells,  Chews, 
and  Peterses,  were  to  be  seen  on  fine  Sunday  mornings  when  the 
time  came  to  illustrate  the  newest  fashions  of  the  fall  or  spring. f 

* The  history  of  the  pew  occupied  here  by  Washington  has  not  been  always  correctly  given.  It 
was  larger  than  any  which  has  since  been  in  the  church.  Colonel  White,  the  father  of  the  bishop, 
owned  a pew  here,  which  on  his  death  went  to  the  bishop,  and  Mrs.  Robert  Morris,  his  sister.  When 
the  President  came,  the  bishop  and  Mrs.  Morris  surrendered  it,  and  went  themselves  to  one  which 
belonged  to  Mrs.  Harrison,  the  bishop's  wife’s  mother,  and  one  behind  Colonel  White’s  original  pew 
was  included  by  the  vestrymen,  who  placed  the  other  pewholders  each  one  pew  lower  down.  This 
was  occupied  by  the  president  during  Washington’s  time.  After  his  retirement  the  pews  were  re- 
stored to  their  former  condition,  and  Bishop  White  resumed  the  one  well  known  as  his  up  to  the 
alteration  of  the  church  in  1836. 

f I hope  I am  not  uncharitable  in  my  historic  record.  Bishop  White  used  to  recount  a pleasant 
anecdote  about  Judge  Peters.  The  judge  had  an  excellent  pew  in  the  middle  aisle,  nearly  under  the 
organ,  as  that  instrument  had  been  originally  placed,  hut  he  seldom  occupied  it,  or  went  to  church 
at  alL  Being  a next  door  neighbor  of  the  bishop’s,  and  on  terms  of  social  familiarity  with  him,  he 
deemed  it  proper  to  explain  to  the  head  of  the  church  the  cause  of  this  unbecoming  omission 
of  his  religious  duties.  “ I should  like,  indeed,”  said  the  judge,  “ to  go  regularly  to  church,  hut 
that  confounded  organ  over  my  head  gives  me  such  a headache,  that  I can  go  only  occasionally.” 


272 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Among  the  other  Episcopal  clergy  were  Dr.  "William  Smith, 
provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  a man  of  habits  a lit- 
tle open  to  observation,  but  of  very  fine  literary  and  elocutionary 
powers,  who  was  generally  called  upon  when  any  occasion  not  par- 
ticularly religious  required  a sermon.  His  residence  was  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Fourth  and  Arch  streets,  a fine  house,  still 
standing,  of  which  the  grounds  ran  southward  to  the  college  over 
which  he  presided.  Dr.  Robert  Andrews,  a man  of  the  purest 
piety  and  reputation,  was  also  at  a later  date  provost  of  the  Uni- 

“ Organ  ? ” said  the  bishop,  “ I don’t  think  it  will  disturb  you  now  : it  was  removed  about  three 
years  since,  to  the  other  end  of  the  church.”  The  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie  was  not  quite  so  passive  as 
the  bishop.  A curious  letter  to  him  from  the  Rev.  Henry  Vandyke,  dated  the  twenty-third  of  Feb- 
ruaiy,  1796,  presents  but  a melancholy  picture  of  the  piety  of  fashionable  people  in  those  times : 
and  as  well  on  its  historical  account,  as  for  its  honorable  record  of  Dr.  Abercrombie’s  fearless  and 
faithful  discharge  of  his  clerical  duty,  I copy  it  nearly  entire.  It  appears  that  Dr.  Abercrombie  had 
given  offence  to  one  of  his  parishioners,  Mrs.  Blackwell,  a sister  of  Mr.  Bingham,  and  closely  re- 
lated to  other  influential  persons  in  the  parish,  by  some  remarks  he  had  made  to  Mrs.  Blackwell  on 
the  subject  of  Mr.  Bingham’s  attendance  at  church ; and  he  now  appeals  to  Mr.  Vandyke,  who  had 
been  present,  for  his  recollection  of  what  was  said : “ The  appeal  you  make  to  my  recollection,  re- 
specting the  conversation  that  passed  at  Dr.  Blackwell’s  between  Mrs.  Blackwell  and  yourself,  ’ says 
Mr.  Vandyke,  in  reply,  “ I remember  well,  and  as  deeply  lament.  You  will,  I dare  say,  remember 
the  conversation  that  occurred  between  us  upon  our  return  from  Dr.  Blackwell’s,  when  you  so  kindly 
accompanied  me  on  my  way  home  to  my  lodgings,  and  that  I was  strongly  apprehensive  you  had  gone 
too  far  with  Mrs.  Blackwell.  You  will  remember  that  you  justified  the  whole  as  being  a point  of  duty, 
in  your  clerical  character.  I will,  however,  give  you  my  best  recollection  on  that  unhappy  subject.  I 
call  it  unhappy,  because,  in  its  issue,  I see  it  has  given  you  pain.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  you 
know,  the  conversation  turned  upon  a sermon  you  had  delivered  a little  before,  in  the  church,  which 
was  said  to  be  pointed  at  certain  characters.  You  replied  that  your  intention  was  to  be  pointed,  that 
you  designed  it  for  the  great ; that  there  were  certain  persons  among  them  who  belonged  to  the 
Episcopal  church,  and  who  seldom  or  never  attended  there,  for  whom  you  had,  for  several  weeks  be- 
fore the  delivery  of  the  sermon,  carried  it  in  your  pocket;  that  whenever  a proper  number  should 
appear  you  had  determined  to  preach  it ; that  the  sermon  was  not  altogether  so  proper  for  the 
Sunday  on  which  it  was  preached,  as  the  one  you  had  intended  for  the  day,  but  finding  a group  of 
them,  you  could  not  pass  it  over,  having  so  fair  a shot.  I do  not  by  any  means  remember  to  have 
heard  the  assertion  you  mention  respecting  your  having  u got  all  the  Willing  family  together  like  a 
covey  of  partridges  and  determined  to  have  a shot  at  them”  in  these  very  words  recited ; but  you  cer- 
tainly named  Mr.  Bingham,  General  Knox,  Mr.  Willing  and  Mrs.  Powell,  as  being  those  who  com- 
posed the  group,  and  said  that  by  their  being  at  church  on  that  day  you  had  a fair  shot  at  them  ; at 
least  I really  understood  you  so.  Mrs.  Blackwell,  I confess,  appeared  very  much  hurt  and  affected 
at  her  brother’s  being  mentioned,  and  said  they  would  all  he  offended,  and  that  she  should  not  be 
surprised  if  they  all  left  the  two  churches  in  which  you  officiated  and  went  to  St.  Paul’s ; that  she 
was  sure  Mrs.  Powell,  in  particular,  would  feel  herself  injured.  You  replied,  that  what  you  had 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


273 


versify.  Dr.  Samuel  Pilmore  was  an  evangelical  churchman,  of 
some  sort,  who,  with  Dr.  Samuel  Magaw,  vice  provost  of  the  uni- 
versity, officiated  at  St.  Paul’s,  of  which  the  congregation  appears 
to  have  begun  in  a schism  from  Christ  Church  and  St.  Peter’s,  in 
which  I believe  it  still  continues. 

Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  who,  associated  with  Bishop  White,  was  for 
eight  years,  from  1792,  one  of  the  chaplains  of  Congress,  was  de- 
servedly regarded  as  the  head  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
metropolis.  He  was  a man  of  commanding  appearance,  and,  in 
his  best  days,  was  an  effective  and  splendid  orator.  His  church, 
the  second  Presbyterian,  was  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Arch  and 
Second  streets.  Here  the  vice  president,  Mr.  Adams,  though  a Uni- 
tarian, regularly  worshipped,  occupying  a seat  in  the  pew  of  Mr. 
Boudinot,  a large  square  enclosure  at  the  head  of  the  central  aisle. 
Dr.  Green’s  eminence  and  authority  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
were  almost  as  great  as  Bishop  White’s  in  the  Episcopal.  In  com- 
mon with  the  whole  Presbyterian  body  throughout  the  country,  he 
had  been  a staunch  whig  during  the  revolution,  and  had  himself 
borne  arms  in  the  ranks,  in  one  of  the  darkest  periods  of  the  war. 
Subsequently  he  became  very  intimately  acquainted  with  some  of 

done  you  considered  to  be  no  more  than  what  duty  required  of  you ; that  so  far  from  Mrs.  Blackwell’s 
brother,  Mr.  Bingham,  being  offended,  you  had  understood  that  he  approbated  the  sermon  ; and  as 
to  Mrs.  Powell,  you  had  said  full  as  much  to  her  upon  another  occasion  at  her  own  house.  You 
then  proceeded  with  firmness  to  say,  that  in  consequence  of  open  neglect  by  the  great  of  our  church 
(including  the  persons  you  had  before  named),  of  the  chief  duties  of  our  religion,  the  churches  were 
generally  ill  attended ; that  they  held  pews  which  were  seldom  or  ever  occupied  by  them,  hy  which 
means  many  serious  Christians,  who  could  get  no  pews  at  all,  were  prevented  from  filling  the  churches ; 
that  therefore  it  was  that  you  had  been  so  pointed ; and,  to  show  that  you  really  designed  it  in  this 
way,  when  you  came  to  that  part  of  the  sermon  which  was  most  particularly  applied  to  that  purpose, 
you  had  made  a pause,  and  bowed  towards  them  in  their  seats,  so  as  that  they  might  the  more 
readily  take  the  force  of  your  observations.  But  you  hoped  it  would  not  finally  produce  the  effect  Mrs. 
Blackwell  suggested.  If,  however,  even  that  should  be  the  case,  you  did  not  doubt  that  others  would 
gladly  take  their  pews,  and  that  the  Episcopal  churches,  like  those  of  other  denominations,  would 
more  generally  be  filled.  You  forcibly  observed  that  the  churches  of  other  denominations  were  well 
attended  by  the  great  who  belonged  to  their  communions,  whereas,  to  the  reproach  of  the  Episcopal 
churches,  those  persons  seldom  or  never  attended  at  all.” 

35 


274 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  leading  characters  in  the  state,  and  in  his  church  had  at  one 
period  almost  a pontifical  supremacy.  His  voice  was  heard  in  its 
first  General  Assembly,  in  his  old  age  he  was  conspicuous  in  what 
is  known  as  the  New  School  controversy,  and  his  name  is  honor- 
ably identified  with  the  leading  measures  which  illustrated  and 
shaped  the  policy  of  the  Presbyterians  for  more  than  half  a century. 
While  he  was  chaplain,  he  noticed  the  thin  attendance  of  mem- 
bers of  Congress  at  prayers.  Not  more  than  one  third  were  com- 
monly present.  On  one  occasion  he  expressed  to  a member,  who 
was  a professor  of  religion,  his  regret  at  this  humiliating  inatten- 
tion, which  he  was  inclined  to  attribute  to  the  prevalence  of  free 
thinking ; but  he  was  confounded  by  his  friend’s  reply : “ Will 
you,”  said  that  gentleman,  “ tell  me,  on  your  veracity,  whether  our 
attendance  is  not  as  good  as  that  of  the  delegates  to  your  synod 
or  General  Assembly  at  the  constituting  prayer  in  the  morning  ? ” 
He  was  compelled  to  admit  the  justice  of  the  inquiry.  Hr.  Green 
resided  in  Chestnut  street,  in  the  house  previously  occupied  by 
Charles  Thompson,  secretary  of  the  Congress  of  1776. 

When  he  first  removed  to  Philadelphia  it  was  to  become  the 
colleague  of  Dr.  James  Sproat,  a preacher  highly  esteemed  in  his 
prime,  but  at  this  period  affected  by  the  infirmities  of  age. 
During  Washington’s  administration  Dr.  Green  had  successively 
two  assistants,  one  of  whom  was  Dr.  John  N.  Abeel,  aftenvard 
distinguished  in  the  Dutch  church  in  New  York,  and  the  other, 
Dr.  Jacob  J.  Jane  way. 

At  the  “ Old  Buttonwood,”  or  First  Presbyterian  church,  Dr. 
Ewing,  a divine  of  eminence,  and  provost  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  the  minister  of  his  day.  Until  he  had  some  per- 
sonal difficulty  respecting  his  seminary,  when  he  abandoned  the 
Presbyterian,  and  attached  himself  to  the  Episcopal  church,  Dr. 
Benjamin  Rush  was  the  most  celebrated  member  of  his  congrega- 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


275 


tion,  which  included  however  Mr.  J.  D.  Sargeant,  Colonel  Wil- 
liams (the  first  superintendent  of  the  West  Point  Academy),  and 
other  most  respectable  persons.  There  was  a third  Presbyterian 
church  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Dufiield. 

Of  the  great  German  Lutheran  church,  in  Cherry  street,  Dr. 
Helmuth,  professor  of  the  German  language  and  literature  in  the 
university,  was  long  the  admired  and  popular  minister. 

Besides  these,  the  most  noted  church  associations  of  the  metrop- 
olis in  that  time,  there  was  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  I have 
already  spoken,  and  one  German  Calvinist,  one  Methodist,  one 
Moravian,  and  one  Roman  Catholic.  In  the  Southern  Liberties 
was  the  Swedes’  church,  probably  the  oldest  place  of  public  wor- 
ship in  Pennsylvania.  The  Jews  had  a synagogue,  and  the  ancient 
Society  of  Friends  was  then  perhaps  stronger  than  it  has  been 
since.  The  African  church,  now  so  prominent  among  the  ecclesi- 
astical bodies  of  the  city,  was  of  a somewhat  later  date.* 


* Dr.  Robert  Blackwell,  who  has  already  been  referred  to,  was  originally  of  Blackwell’s  Island, 
New  York,  which  his  great-grandfather  had  purchased,  and  had  been  a chaplain  in  the  army. 
Being  a man  of  very  large  fortune,  fine  personal  appearance,  and  singularly  pleasant  temper  and 
manners,  he  was  a conspicuous  character  in  society.  Uniting  to  his  other  advantages,  great  dignity, 
he  was  much  sought  for  on  the  occurrence  of  fashionable  weddings.  Slavery  then  existed  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  blacks,  who  have  always  been  observed  to  be  extremely  “ aristocratic,”  hardly 
considered  that  they  were  married  at  all,  unless  tho  Doctor  or  Bishop  White  celebrated  their  nup- 
tials. Dr.  Blackwell’s  registry  of  marriages  and  baptisms,  which  I have  seen,  beside  the  mar- 
riage of  Miss  Margaret  Allen  to  William  Tilghman,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  and  among  the 
alliances  of  the  Willings,  Francises,  Chews,  and  others,  records  the  marriages  of  Sylvia  to  Caesar, 
Venus  to  Pompey,  Dinah  to  Cuffe,  and  others,  the  humblest  in  the  world,  to  whom  as  to  the 
greatest,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  promised.  From  the  wide  hall  of  his  elegant  house  in  Pine  street 
below  Third,  with  its  rich  chairs  and  sofas,  in  which  he  would  array  them,  the  black  company  would 
adjourn  to  his  kitchen,  where  they  were  sure  of  some  good  wine  and  other  hospitable  cheer.  In  due 
time,  too,  Sylvia,  Dinah,  and  Venus,  were  blessed  with  increase,  who  would  of  course  be  brought  to  be 
baptized  at  his  house,  and  by  nobody,  of  course,  but  the  Doctor  who  had  married  their  papas  and 
mammas.  Notwithstanding  his  inexhaustible  fund  both  of  benignity  and  good-humor,  this  “ black  ” 
business  grew  a little  onerous ; and  as  he  began  to  observe,  it  had  no  relief  from  the  increasing 
numbers  of  the  white  clergy.  The  old  gentleman  bethought  himself  at  last  of  a remedy,  and 
having  a very  respectable  negro  family  servant,  who  had  been  brought  up  from  a child  in  his  house, 
and  was  always  piously  disposed,  he  inquired  of  him  how  he  would  like  to  take  “ holy  orders.” 


276 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


IV. 

The  administration  of  justice  — the  great  standing  interest  of 
society  — may  generally  he  taken  as  an  exponent  of  society  itself. 
In  no  country,  at  any  time  when  the  courts  have  been  great, 
and  the  bar  great,  has  the  nation  been  other  than  great  also. 
D’Aguesseau  marks  a splendid  era  in  France,  Eldon  in  England, 
and  Marshall  in  America. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  found  just  admitted  at  the 
Philadelphia  bar,  or  preparing  for  it,  several  young  men  of  fine 
parts  and  accomplishments.  The  older  class,  of  the  second  “ stra- 
tification ” of  the  colonial  bar,  John  Ross,  Mr.  Francis,  Mr.  Wil- 
cocks,  Mr.  Galloway,  and  Andrew  Allen,  had  either  passed  away 
or  was  doing  so,  and  Mr.  Bradford,  Mr.  Shippen,  Edward  Tilgh- 
man,  Jared  Ingersoll,  and  William  Rawle,  were  rising  or  about 
rising  above  the  horizon.  The  last  names,  with  those  of  William 
Lewis  and  Mr.  Sitgreaves,  of  Easton,  are  those  which  adorned 
most  brilliantly  the  bar  of  the  capital  during  the  first  presidency. 
Mr.  Joseph  Reed  had  died  in  1785,  and  though  his  powers  as  an 
advocate  were  very  considerable,  his  passion  was  for  political  life. 


Having  considered  the  matter,  the  man  felt  convinced  that  as  Dr.  Blackwell  had  suggested  it,  he  must 
be  “ truly  called  ; ” and,  putting  on  a white  cravat  and  green  spectacles,  he  entered  in  due  form  upon 
his  divinity  studies,  for  the  uninterrupted  pursuit  of  which  he  was  allowed  a very  comfortable  room 
over  the  coach-house.  Bishop  White,  whose  offices  were  a great  deal  invoked  in  the  same  way, 
highly  approved  of  Dr.  Blackwell’s  ingenuity,  and  the  Reverend  Absalom  Jones  was  in  good  time 
ordained  by  the  bishop  a regular  member  of  the  Apostolic  ministry.  Jones  had  so  constantly  been 
present  and  assisting  in  a humbler  capacity  at  hi3  master’s  celebrations  of  marriage,  that  he  was 
found,  on  the  first  experiment,  quite  au  fait ; and  those  who  witnessed  his  performance  of  the  cere- 
mony, found  it,  in  every  respect,  so  “ exactly  like  ” Dr.  Blackwell’s  own,  that  it  was  sometimes 
appealed  to  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the  equality  of  the  races.  From  this  time,  whenever  invited  to 
this  duty  by  the  blacks,  Dr.  Blackwell  declined  on  the  ground  of  professional  etiquette.  Jones,  I 
ought  to  add,  gave  fuller  proof  of  his  ministry  than  many  of  his  white  brethren  have  since  done.  He 
was  very  nseful  among  his  people  in  Philadelphia,  and  is  yet  well  remembered,  as  his  memory 
also  is  yet  greatly  respected,  by  both  whites  and  blacks,  as  the  first  rector  of  St.  Thomas’s  African 
Episcopal  church,  in  Fifth  street  below  Walnut. 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


277 


and  his  interests  were  drawn  in  the  unprofitable  direction  of  Penn- 
sylvania local  politics.  Mr.  Bradford  undoubtedly  occupied  the 
first  position  in  his  profession.  I have  referred  to  him  in  several 
places  in  this  book.  I cannot  mention  him  too  often.  In  mere 
law  learning,  he  was  probably  surpassed  by  Mr.  Edward  Tilgh- 
man,  who  was  one  of  the  most  thorough  “ common  lawyers  ” that 
England  or  America  ever  produced ; and  in  what  may  be  styled 
sledge  hammer  force  of  logic,  he  may  have  been  inferior  to  Mr. 
Lewis  ; but  in  Mr.  Bradford  there  was  a combination  of  powers, 
virtues  and  accomplishments,  seldom  found  in  perfect  proportion, 
even  when  found  in  combination  generally.  There  was  an  unusual 
“completeness  of  man.”  On  the  professional  side,  full  attain- 
ments, fine  intelligence,  high  natural  eloquence,  ready  and  patient 
capacities  for  business,  with  excellent  business  habits,  made  him 
distinguished.  Great  prudential  qualities,  liberal  civic  and  social 
dispositions,  happy  relations  in  domestic  life,  with  delightful  man- 
ners, and  an  engaging  figure,  made  a beautiful  portrait,  merely 
personal.  Expanded  political  views  and  sympathies,  and  the 
known  devotion  of  his  father,  his  father-in-law,  and  himself,  to  the 
cause  of  the  people,  from  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  stopped 
the  lips  which  would  otherwise  have  reproached  his  federal  poli- 
tics, and  in  the  political  sphere  made  him  acceptable  to  all ; while 
the  known  purity  and  fidelity  which  pervaded  his  whole  nature, 
and  were  conspicuous  in  all  its  elements,  whether  professional, 
personal,  or  of  the  state,  made  him  as  perfect  a character  as  the 
history  of  any  country  presents.  He  seems  never  to  have  “ made 
a mistake  ” in  any  act,  great  or  small,  of  his  life ; and  the  poets 
would  have  said  that  he  “ lived  in  the  presence  of  all  the  gods.” 
In  addition  to  every  personal  and  professional  distinction,  Wash- 
ington’s appointment  of  him  to  the  first  law  office  of  the  govern- 
ment gave  him,  of  course,  the  highest  confidence  of  the  public. 


278 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Mr.  Edward  Tilghman  has  been  so  well  described  by  another 
pen  that  I will  not  attempt  to  describe  him  with  my  own.  His 
family  was  an  ancient  English  one  and  came  to  Pennsylvania  from 
Maryland.  Mr.  Tilghman’ s own  education  in  the  law  was  chiefly 
in  the  Temple,  and  in  the  years  1772  and  1773  we  find  him  an  as- 
siduous attendant  in  the  courts  of  Westminster  Hall,  taking  notes 
of  the  arguments  in  chancery  before  Lord  Apsley,  and  of  such 
men  as  Wallace,  Dunning,  and  Davenport,  before  Lord  Mansfield 
and  the  judges  of  the  King’s  Bench. 

“ There  are,”  says  the  writer  of  the  memoir  from  which  I get 
most  of  these  facts,  “ two  very  different  methods  of  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  law  of  England,  and  by  each  of  them  men  have 
succeeded  in  public  estimation  to  an  almost  equal  extent.  One  of 
them,  which  may  be  called  the  old  way,  is  a methodical  study  of 
the  general  system  of  law,  and  of  its  grounds  and  reasons,  be- 
ginning with  the  fundamental  law  of  estates  and  tenures,  and  pur- 
suing the  derivative  branches  in  logical  succession,  and  the  colla- 
teral subjects  in  due  order,  by  which  the  student  acquires  a knowl- 
edge of  principles  that  rule  in  all  departments  of  science,  and 
learns  to  feel,  as  much  as  to  know,  what  is  in  harmony  with  the 
system,  and  what  is  not.  The  other  is  to  get  an  outline  of  the 
system  by  the  aid  of  commentaries,  and  to  fill  it  up  by  desultory 
reading  of  treatises  and  reports,  according  to  the  bent  of  the  stu- 
dent, without  much  shape  or  certainty  in  the  knowledge  so  ac- 
quired, until  it  is  given  by  investigations  in  the  course  of  practice. 
A good  deal  of  law  may  be  put  together  by  a facile  or  flexible 
man  in  the  second  of  these  modes,  and  the  public  are  often  satis- 
fied with  it ; but  the  profession  itself  knows  the  first,  by  its  fruits, 
to  be  the  most  effectual  way  of  making  a great  lawyer.  Edward 
Tilghman  took  the  old  way,  and  acquired  in  it  not  only  great 
learning,  but  the  most  accurate  legal  judgment  of  any  man  of  his 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


279 


day,  at  the  bar  of  which  he  was  a member Upon  questions 

which  to  most  men  are  perplexing  at  first,  and  continue  to  be  so 
until  they  have  worked  their  way  to  a conclusion  by  elaborate 
reasoning,  he  seemed  to  possess  an  instinct,  which  seized  the  true 
result  before  he  had  taken  time  to  prove  it.  This  was  no  doubt 
the  fruit  of  severe  and  regular  training,  by  which  his  mind  be- 
came so  imbued  with  legal  principles,  that  they  unconsciously 
governed  his  first  impressions. 

“ In  that  branch  of  the  law  which  demands  the  greatest  sub- 
tlety of  intellect  as  well  as  familiarity  with  principles,  the  chapter 
of  contingent  remainders  and  executory  devises,  he  had  probably 
no  superior  any  where.  An  eminent  judge  has  said  of  him,  1 that 
he  never  knew  any  man  who  had  this  branch  of  the  law  so  much 
at  his  finger  ends.  With  all  others  with  whom  he  had  had  pro- 
fessional intercourse,  it  was  the  work  of  time  and  consideration  to 
comprehend ; but  he  took  in  with  one  glance  all  the  beauties  of 
the  most  obscure  and  difficult  limitations.  With  him  it  was  intui- 
tive ; and  he  could  untie  the  knots  of  a contingent  remainder  or 
executory  devise  as  familiarly  as  he  could  his  garter.’  When  this 
can  be  justly  said  of  a lawyer — and  it  was  most  justly  of  Edward 
Tilghman — nothing  is  wanting  to  convey  to  professional  readers 
an  adequate  notion  of  the  extent  of  his  learning,  and  the  grasp 
of  his  understanding ; for  the  doctrines  upon  these  subjects  are 
the  higher  mathematics  of  the  law,  and  the  attainment  of  them 
by  any  one  implies  that  the  whole  domain  lies  at  his  feet.  Mr. 
Tilghman  was  also  an  advocate  of  great  powers  — a master  of 
every  question  in  his  causes  — a wary  tactician  in  the  management 
of  them  — highly  accomplished  in  language  — a faultless  logi- 
cian — a man  of  the  purest  integrity  and  of  the  brightest  honor 
— fluent  without  the  least  volubility  — concise  to  a degree  that 
left  every  one’s  patience  and  attention  unimpaired  — and  per- 


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spieuous  to  almost  the  lowest  order  of  understandings,  while  he  was 
dealing  with  almost  the  highest  topics,  — how  could  such  qualities 
as  these  fail  to  give  him  a ready  acceptance  with  both  courts  and 
juries,  and  to  make  him  the  bulwark  of  any  cause  which  his  judg- 
ment approved  ? — An  invincible  aversion  to  authorship  and  to 
public  office,  prevented  this  great  lawyer  from  being  known 
as  he  ought  to  have  been,  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  country. 
He  has  probably  left  nothing  professional  behind  him  but  his 
opinions  upon  cases,  now  in  various  hands,  and  difficult  to  collect, 
but  which,  if  collected  and  published,  would  place  him  upon  the 
same  elevation  with  Dulaney  of  Maryland,  or  Fearne,  the  author 
of  the  work  in  which  he  most  delighted.  The  Chief  Justiceship 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  was  offered  to  him  by 
Governor  McKean,  upon  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Shippen,  but 
he  declined  it,  and  recommended  for  the  appointment  his  kinsman, 
William  Tilghman,  who  so  much  adorned  that  station  by  his 
learning  and  virtues.  — It  is  instructive  to  record,  that  the  stern 
acquirements  and  labors  of  this  eminent  man  never  displaced  the 
smiles  of  benevolence  from  his  countenance,  nor  put  the  least 
weight  upon  his  ever-buoyant  spirit.  His  wit  was  as  playful  and 
harmless,  and  almost  as  bright  as  heat  lightning  upon  a summer’s 
evening.  It  always  lit  up  the  edges  of  the  clouds  of  controversy 
that  surround  the  bar,  and  sometimes  dispersed  the  darkest  and 
angriest.  A more  frank,  honorable,  and  gentlemanly  practitioner 
of  the  law,  and  one  more  kind,  communicative  and  condescending 
to  the  young  students  and  members  of  the  bar,  never  lived.” 
Horace  Binney,  thirty  years  his  junior,  was  willing  to  record  of 
himself,  that  he  “ regarded  it  as  his  greatest  good  fortune  to  have 
been  admitted  to  the  familiar  intimacy  of  Edward  Tilghman,  and 
to  have  enjoyed  not  only  instruction  from  his  learning  and  wis- 
dom, but  an  example  of  life  in  his  cheerfulness  and  serenity,  dur- 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


281 


ring  the  vicissitudes  of  health  and  fortune  which  chequered  his 
declining  years.” 

From  the  same  pen  we  have  a sketch  of  Mr.  Ingersoll,  who, 
like  Mr.  Tilghman,  had  been,  in  part  at  least,  educated  in  London, 
and  who  after  his  return  home  enjoyed  for  many  years  an  extern 
sive  practice.  “ It  may  not  be  known  to  the  present  age,”  says 
the  eulogist  of  Mr.  Ingersoll,  “ but  it  is  an  indisputable  fact,  he 
had  almost  two  distinct  natures,  of  different  qualities,  though 
both  of  them  excellent : his  nature  in  reflection,  and  his  nature  in 
action.  In  reflection  he  was,  or  appeared  to  be,  rather  slow,  uncer- 
tain, deliberate  — poising  and  balancing  thought  against  thought, 
and  authority  against  authority,  as  if  he  did  not  wish  to  approach 
the  conclusion ; and  the  consequence  of  it,  I believe,  was,  that 
while  he  was  generally  and  for  the  most  part  right,  if  he  ever  was 
otherwise,  it  was  because  the  truth  of  the  conclusion  was  hurt  by 
the  slowness  of  the  process.  This  was  one  nature.  But  when  he 
came  into  action,  he  was  the  most  clear,  decided,  bold,  acute,  far- 
sighted man,  whom  I have  ever  seen  in  my  life,  as  it  regarded  all 
the  purposes  of  his  cause;  and  he  sprang  to  his  conclusion  in- 
stantly and  fearlessly,  as  if  he  came  to  it  by  inspiration.  In  both 
of  these  natures,  however  different  in  their  character,  he  was  a 
fine  example  to  the  students  in  his  office,  whom  he  permitted  to 
know  him,  and  to  trace,  as  it  were,  the  steps  of  his  mind  even  in 
its  coldest  operations ; and  often  did  we  hear  him,  through  the 
glass  door  of  his  office  on  the  other  side  of  the  way,  treading  his 
regular  steps  across  the  floor,  and  soliloquizing  the  points  of  an 
opinion  or  a cause,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  himself  the  stimulus 
which  he  felt  that  he  required.  When  he  got  before  a jury,  he 
was  the  most  dangerous  adversary  that  any  gentleman  could  meet. 
In  my  perhaps  partial  opinion,  he  was  the  ablest  advocate  of  the 

bar  before  a jury,  when  he  was  in  his  prime  and  vigor,  whether 

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his  cause  was  good  or  bad ; and  before  the  court  also,  if  his  cause 
was  good,  or  probably  so.” 

Mr.  John  Dickenson  Sergeant  deserves  notice  for  merits  which 
were  all  his  own,  and  still  more  so  as  the  father  of  a son  whc 
added  new  and  much  greater  honor  to  his  name,  the  late  Mr.  John 
Sergeant.  The  elder  Mr.  Sergeant  did  not  belong  to  the  Washing- 
ton school  of  politicians ; he  was  what  was  known  as  an  anti-fed- 
eralist, or  democrat.  The  party  was  then  as  respectable  as  it  is 
now,  but  it  had  not  the  advantage  which  it  has  had  almost  ever 
since,  of  controlling  all  the  offices  of  the  country.  It  was  then  a 
proscribed  party.  Few  who  had  the  manners  and  associations  of 
gentlemen  belonged  to  it.  Mr.  Sergeant  however  was  an  honorable 
man,  and  he  was  held  in  deserved  esteem  both  for  his  abilities  and 
his  integrity.  He  had  been  attorney  general  of  the  state.  His 
death,  in  1793,  was  regarded  as  a loss  to  the  city  and  to  his  pro- 
fession. 

Of  Mr.  Rawle  we  have  no  sufficient  record,  and  as  he  well  de- 
served the  best,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  not.  In  the 
vigor  of  his  powers  and  the  height  of  his  fame  he  approached,  I 
have  often  supposed,  more  nearly  to  Mr.  Bradford  than  he  did  to 
either  of  the  other  eminent  lawyers  I have  described.  He  had 
less  genius  than  Mr.  Bradford,  and  their  characters  were  marked  by 
such  important  differences  as  would  naturally  be  found  in  men,  one 
of  whom  had  been  largely  bred  in  the  camp,  and  the  other  in  the 
quietism  of  the  community  of  Friends.  But  in  the  purity  and 
gentleness  of  their  natures,  in  their  instinctive  delicacy  and  good- 
ness, as  well  as  in  their  habits  of  business,  some  resemblance  might, 
perhaps  be  traced.  Mr.  Rawle’s  family  was  one  of  the  best,  in 
most  of  its  lines,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  an  ancient  one  in  En- 
gland. His  own  legal  education  had  been  chiefly  in  the  Temple, 
and  on  his  return  home  in  1783  he  rose  by  very  fair  degrees  to 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


283 


extensive  engagements  in  the  best  description  of  commercial  and 
other  practice.  In  July,  1791,  he  received  from  President  Wash- 
ington the  office  of  District  Attorney  of  Pennsylvania,  and  he 
prosecuted  in  behalf  of  the  country  the  offenders  against  the  au- 
thority of  the  federal  government  in  1794  and  1798.  Though 
having  little  taste  for  political  life,  he  belonged  to  the  party  of 
which  Washington  was  the  head,  and  was  always  a faithful  adhe- 
rent to  its  principles.  He  survived  most  or  all  of  his  professional 
contemporaries,  and  near  the  close  of  his  career,  when  he  had  with- 
drawn almost  entirely  from  connection  with  the  courts,  his  excel- 
lent legal  judgment,  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  both  the 
statutory  and  common  law  of  England  and  Pennsylvania,  is  proved 
by  what  is  known  in  Pennsylvania  as  the  Revised  Code,  a work 
for  which,  without  disparagement  of  his  coadjutors,  it  may  proba- 
bly be  said  that  the  state  is  chiefly  indebted  to  his  pen. 

I have  not  mentioned  Mr.  Alexander  James  Dallas,  although 
in  connection  with  his  Reports  his  name  belongs  to  the  bar  of  this 
period.  His  practice,  I presume,  was  considerable,  but  he  did  not 
belong  to  the  school  of  Washington,  nor  to  that  of  Washington’s 
friends.  His  life  was  so  much  engrossed  with  politics  that  his 
character  and  position  might  be  regarded  more  appropriately  in 
the  exhibition  of  another  class  of  persons. 

Mr.  Samuel  Sitgreaves  was  of  Easton,  but  practised  at  the  bar 
of  Philadelphia,  in  which  city  he  was  compelled  to  pass  much  of 
his  time  as  a senator.  I have  not  the  means  of  estimating  his  pro- 
fessional abilities,  but  they  must  have  been  of  a high  order.  His 
practice  was  considerable,  and  he  enjoyed  unequaled  reputation  in 
the  district  in  which  he  resided,  the  northeast  of  the  state.  He 
was  a man  of  elegant  appearance  and  manners,  and  of  very  lofty 
pretension  and  carriage.  He  had  been  much  in  foreign  countries, 
where  he  was  admired  for  his  presence  and  address.  A few  letters 


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of  his  which  I have  seen  prove  that  his  literary  accomplishments 
were  highly  respectable.  He  was,  with  Mr.  James  Ross,  a leader 
of  the  federal  party,  and  the  regard  in  which  he  was  held  by  that 
party,  unequaled  by  any  which  has  ever  existed  in  any  country  for 
the  intelligence  and  purity  of  its  principal  characters  is  a sufficient 
memorial  of  his  name. 

Of  Mr.  William  Lewis  I am  unable  to  give  many  particulars. 
He  began  the  study  of  law  late  in  life,  and  was  probably  never 
learned  in  books.  He  was  of  that  class  of  men  who  need  but  lit- 
tle such  education.  He  came,  I think,  from  the  country,  and  re- 
tained throughout  his  life  many  habits  and  distinctions  which, 
though  common  at  the  bars  of  the  cities  in  our  own  day,  did  not 
then  belong  to  the  bar  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  however  great 
abilities  as  a lawyer,  and  as  a legal  dialectician,  I infer,  was  second 
to  none  of  his  contemporaries. 

In  these  short  notices  I have  confined  myself  strictly  to  the  bar 
of  the  metropolis.  But  the  finest  legal  intelligence  of  the  country 
was  also  displayed  here.  Hamilton,  while  residing  in  Philadel- 
phia, argued  some  of  his  greatest  cases  here.  The  world  knows 
and  admires  him  as  a soldier,  a financier,  and  a statesman,  but  those 
best  able  to  speak  of  him  as  a lawyer  have  declared  that  his  fame 
in  this  capacity  was  not  less  splendid  than  that  to  which  he  rose 
in  other  spheres.  “ That  accomplished  lawyer,”  says  Chancellor 
Kent,  “ showed  by  his  precepts  and  practice  the  value  to  be 
placed  on  the  decisions  of  Lord  Mansfield.  He  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  productions  of  Valin  and  Emerigon  ; and  if  he 
was  not  truly  one  of  the  founders  of  this  state,  he  may  at  least  be 
considered  as  among  the  earliest  of  those  who  recommended  these 
authors  to  the  notice  of  the  profession,  and  rendered  the  study 
and  citation  of  them  popular  and  familiar.  His  arguments  on 
commercial,  as  well  as  on  other  questions  were  remarkable  for 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


285 


freedom  and  energy,  and  lie  was  eminently  distinguished  for  ex- 
hausting every  subject  which  he  discussed  and  leaving  no  argu- 
ment or  objection  on  the  adverse  side  unnoticed  and  unanswered. 
He  traced  doctrines  to  their  source,  or  probed  them  to  their  foun- 
dations, and  at  the  same  time  paid  the  highest  deference  and  re- 
spect to  sound  authority.  The  reported  cases  do  no  kind  of  jus- 
tice to  his  close  and  accurate  logic ; to  his  powerful  and  compre- 
hensive intellect ; to  the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  or  the  eloquence 
of  his  illustrations.  We  may  truly  apply  to  the  efforts  of  his 
mind,  the  remark  of  Mr.  Justice  Buller,  in  reference  to  the  judi- 
cial opinions  of  another  kindred  genius,  that  ‘principles  were 
stated,  reasoned  upon,  enlarged  and  explained,  until  those  who 
heard  him  were  lost  in  admiration  at  the  strength  and  stretch  of 
the  human  understanding.’  ” 


Y. 

Op  the  prominent  representatives  of  the  medical  profession  in 
the  capital  during  the  presidency  of  Washington,  it  is  probable 
that  Dr.  Rush  will  be  expected  to  be  first  presented.  His  name 
undoubtedly  will  have  a historic  and  popular  distinction  when 
others  will  have  no  fame  beyond  the  halls  of  science,  and  in  them 
be  confined,  in  part,  to  the  region  where  they  themselves  were 
known.  Medical  history  also  will  revert  to  this  era  as  the  one  in 
which  the  principal  evidences  of  Dr.  Rush’s  zeal  and  abilities  are 
found : the  eras  of  those  terrible  fevers  which  appeared,  in  inter- 
vals, at  the  seat  of  government,  near  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
And  his  literary  qualities  were  so  excellent,  his  powers  of  narra- 
tion and  description  so  great,  that  his  own  records  of  those  scenes 
will  long  continue  to  give  him  fame,  and  to  excite  an  interest  in 
whatever  concerns  his  memory. 

Although  the  chief  medical  theory  — that  of  the  unity  of  hu- 


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man  disease  — to  which  his  capacities  were  devoted,  was,  no  doubt, 
but  a specious  one,  and  is  now  exploded,  and  though  his  writings, 
voluminous  as  they  are,  have  little  authority  in  medical  science,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  believe  that  his  practice,  in  at  least  the  mid- 
dle years  of  his  professional  life,  could  have  been  essentially  bad. 
His  manners  were  insinuating  and  delightful,  his  ingenuity  unu- 
sually great,  his  devotion  to  his  classes  and  to  all  whom  he  could 
enlist  as  the  advocates  of  his  fame,  constant,  polite,  and  adroit. 
But  no  power  of  making  the  worse  appear  the  better  side,  no  ef- 
forts for  controlling  those  whose  voices  and  whose  activity  are 
used  to  create  public  opinion,  could,  I think,  of  themselves  have 
given  to  Dr.  Bush  the  success  in  his  profession  which  he  unques- 
tionably at  one  period  enjoyed.  His  methods  of  treating  the  great 
fevers  of  his  time,  as  much  as  they  were  condemned  by  some  prac- 
titioners then,  and  as  bad  as  they  have  been  found  by  many  prac- 
titioners since,  must  have  had  a wide  basis  of  truth  and  applica- 
tion. That  his  favorite  remedies  were  applied  even  then  indis- 
criminately and  with  too  much  reliance  on  their  efficacy,  that  his 
“ heroic  practice  ” may  have  sometimes  killed  when  another’s  “ ars 
expectandi  ” might  have  saved,  may  be  admitted  without  affect- 
ing our  main  position.  But,  uninfluenced  by  the  dogmas  of  the 
schools,  I cannot  question  that  for  his  day,  or  for  that  part  of  his 
day  of  which  he  bore  the  heat  and  burden,  his  practice  was  in 
the  main  judicious.  That  he  himself  was  fond  of  applying  it 
too  long,  and  of  over  applying  it,  and  so  discredited  it ; that  he 
maintained  it  too  inflexibly  wherein  it  was  right,  and  too  long 
wherein  it  was  erroneous,  should  not  perhaps  bring  reproach  of 
his  views.  Those  minds  are  rare  in  which,  with  deeply  settled 
convictions,  such  as  become  principles,  much  capacity  exists  for 
receiving  new  impressions,  or  for  applying  doctrines  to  new  con- 
ditions. This  was  eminently  true  of  Dr.  Bush,  from  an  origi- 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


287 


nal  love  of  theory,  and  from  the  strongest  personal  zeal  and  affec- 
tion for  every  thing  which  originated  with  or  concerned  himself. 

Much  of  Dr.  Rush’s  fame  which  the  world  supposes  to  be  pro- 
fessional, arises  from  his  connection  with  our  great  political  actors 
and  actions.  Though  not  a member  of  Congress  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  17  7 6,  his  name  is  found  attached  to  the  charter  of  our 
independence,  and  he  felt  a profound  interest  in  the  conduct  of  the 
revolution.  He  was  conspicuous,  also,  in  most  other  public  affairs 
which  were  agitated  in  Philadelphia,  whether  religious,  literary, 
or  social ; and  as  a lecturer  or  popular  writer  he  possessed  a charm 
of  style  rarely  equaled.  This,  with  his  extensive  relations  with  men 
of  learning,  his  great  medical  practice,  his  remarkable  powers  of 
address  and  conversation,  and  the  devotion  he  inspired  from  nearly 
every  one  who  was  his  friend  at  ah,  made  him  what  he  must  be 
confessed  to  have  been,  a marked  character  while  Philadelphia 
was  the  seat  of  government ; but  it  would  be  a violation  of  truth, 
and  an  injustice  to  those  men  who  were  the  friends  of  Washing- 
ton, and  of  whom  Washington  was  the  friend,  to  include  Dr.  Rush 
in  the  number.  In  war  and  peace  he  was  one  of  the  chief’s  ene- 
mies, and  after  the  twentieth  of  March,  1778,  Washington  had  no 
confidence  whatever  in  his  friendly  professions.  The  fact  of  the 
President’s  disregard  of  a man  whose  talents  were  so  considerable 
was  noted  by  some  observers  in  that  day ; the  reasons  of  it  are 
better  understood  in  this. 

William  Shippen  was  now  in  the  height  of  his  professional 
distinction.  He  had  been  for  several  years  Director  General  of 
the  Medical  Department  of  the  army,  and  was  endeared  to  the 
President  not  only  by  trials  which  in  the  war  they  had  shared  to- 
gether, but  was  especially  so,  it  may  be  believed,  by  the  fact  that 
in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  that  of  Con- 
way’s cabal,  he  defended  with  success  his  professional  reputation 


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against  what  Washington  calls  “ charges  of  a very  heinous  nature,” 
by  the  same  individual  who  almost  on  the  same  day  spoke  of  the 
commander-in-chief  as  “ no  general,”  and  quoted  with  admiration 
the  declaration  of  Conway  that  “ a great  and  good  God  hath  de- 
creed America  to  be  free,  or  the  general,  and  weak  counsellors, 
would  have  ruined  her  long  ago.”  Shippen’s  reputation  was  higher 
as  a surgeon  than  as  a therapeutist.  While  in  Europe,  where  he 
spent  five  years,  he  had  been  a pupil  of  Sir  John  Hunter,  and  a 
resident  in  his  family,  and  almost  an  inhabitant  of  the  theatre  of 
William  Hunter,  and  his  affinities  therefore  were  naturally  more 
intimate  with  surgery  than  with  medicine.  Unlike  Dr.  Rush,  he 
wrote  but  little,  and  we  have  not  much  in  the  way  of  papers  to 
prove  his  abilities ; but  we  have  ample  traditionary  evidence,  and 
the  direct  testimony  of  his  associate,  Dr.  Wistar,  the  best  of  judges 
and  the  best  of  witnesses,  that  they  were  very  high.  Shippen 
was  a man  of  fine  appearance  and  fine  manners ; his  elocution  was 
admired  by  every  body,  when  Duche  and  Whitfield  had  left  the 
impressions  of  models  never  since  surpassed.  His  social  connec- 
tions were  all  influential,  and  he  was  regarded  in  the  period  of 
Washington’s  administration  with  all  the  interest  which  could  be- 
long to  one  who  had  done  a special  honor  to  his  country ; for  Dr. 
Morgan  had  died  in  1789,  and  Shippen  now  remained  the  only 
surviving  founder  of  the  medical  school  of  Pennsylvania,  the  first 
established  medical  college  in  America,  of  which  he  had  been  not 
only  a father,  from  1765,  the  year  of  its  creation,  but  one  of  the 
most  interested  and  efficient  professors  ; and  by  his  fine  powers  as 
a demonstrator,  and  his  happy  style  as  a lecturer,  had  led  it  from 
a humble  beginning,  with  ten  pupils,  to  the  eminence  it  occupied  in 
the  closing  ten  years  of  the  last  century,  when  its  benches  were 
crowded  by  students  whose  names  were  counted  by  hundreds. 

Dr.  Wistar  was  a character  whom  it  is  delightful  to  remember 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


289 


It  is  praise  enough  to  say  of  him  that  he  received  the  eulogies  of 
William  Tilghman.  The  harmony  of  his  parts,  the  placid  and 
benignant  cast  of  his  tempers,  might  lead  us  to  suppose  that  Dr 
Wistar’s  reputation  was  chiefly  a moral  one,  and  to  doubt  whethei 
his  scientific  abilities  and  attainments  had  been  of  the  best  order 
We  know  however  by  most  convincing  proofs  that  they  were  so 
He  had  been  a thorough  student  in  the  foreign  universities,  where 
he  passed  more  than  three  years,  and  on  his  return  to  America  had 
filled  with  unusual  credit  the’  chair  of  the  professorship  of  chem- 
istry in  the  college  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  a mineralogist  also. 
But  it  was  as  an  anatomist  that  his  fame  was  supreme.  His  trea- 
tise on  anatomy  has  been  considered  so  complete  and  accurate  a 
work  that  it  is  still  extensively  used  as  a text  book  in  the  colleges, 
and  it  has  quite  recently  received  new  distinction  in  the  editorial 
labors  of  so  fine  an  anatomist  as  Dr.  Pancoast.  Dr.  Wistar  was 
not  actively  engaged  in  the  revolution,  but  he  had  been  on  the 
field  of  Germantown,  and  his  humanity  and  skill  were  alike  con- 
spicuous in  the  hospitals  there.  He  belonged  by  his  connections 
to  the  Society  of  Friends,  though  he  never  conformed  strictly  to 
their  discipline.  This  would  have  kept  him  from  celebrity  in  the 
fashionable  world  of  that  day ; but  his  reputation  as  a man  of 
science  carried  him  into  every  sphere. 

Dr.  Wistar’s  social  powers  were  eminent.  On  the  Saturday 
evening  of  each  week  his  house  was  the  resort,  not  of  those  mixed 
crowds  of  men  of  every  kind  of  rank,  with  all  sorts  and  no  sorts 
of  education,  — traders,  physicians,  lawyers,  litterateurs,  and  bon 
vivants  — who,  at  “ Wistar  Parties,”  originally  established  in  his 
honor,  are  now  called  together,  to  eat,  drink,  and  go  home ; but 
of  gentlemen  of  all  the  liberal  professions,  scholars,  and  such 
strangers  of  distinction  as  happened  at  the  time  to  be  visitors  or 

temporary  residents  in  the  city.  It  was  of  meetings  like  these 

37 


290 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


that  Chief  Justice  Tilghman  says  : “ Without  intending  it,  our  la 
mented  friend  would  take  the  lead,  and  so  interesting  were  his 
anecdotes,  and  so  just  his  remarks,  that,  drawing  close  to  the  dying 
embers  we  often  forgot  the  lapse  of  time  until  warned  by  the  un- 
welcome clock  that  we  had  entered  on  another  day.” 

Of  Kuhn,  Griffitts,  Hutchinson,  Dunlap,  and  other  practition- 
ers of  the  time  we  are  describing,  I need  not  speak  at  large  ; but 
of  Philip  Syng  Physic,  who  filled  the  most  illustrious  career  in 
medicine  that  this  country  has  ever  known,  I may  remark,  that 
while  his  full  fame  belongs  to  a later  date,  he  had  even  in  the  time 
of  Washington  begun  to  attract  the  attention  of  society,  by  dis- 
plays of  the  promise  which  was  afterwards  so  splendidly  fulfilled. 

Such  was  the  medical  distinction  of  our  epoch.  The  college 
of  Philadelphia  was  in  1789  in  the  height  of  its  renown.  Dr. 
Shippen  was  its  professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery ; Rush  was  in 
the  chair  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine;  Wistar  was 
filling  its  professorship  of  chemistry  and  the  institutes  of  medi- 
cine ; and  Dr.  Griffitts  that  of  materia  medica  and  pharmacy. 
Indeed  the  course  of  instruction  in  that  day  was  more  complete 
than  it  has  been  in  ours,  for  it  had  a separate  chair  of  botany  and 
natural  history,  of  which  the  accomplished  occupant  was  Dr.  Bar- 
ton, the  first  American  who  gave  his  country  an  elementary  work 
on  the  science  of  vegetable  nature. 

“ This,”  says  Professor  Wood,  the  historian  of  that  college, 
“ may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  eras  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  medical  school.  It  was  now  that  Dr.  Rush  took  that 
station  which  his  genius  and  eloquence  afterwards  rendered  so  il- 
lustrious. It  was  now  that  Barton  found  a field  for  the  display  of 
acquirements  unrivalled  among  his  contemporary  countrymen  ; it 
was  now  moreover  that  Wistar  entered  within  these  walls,  which 
the  fame  of  his  talents  as  a teacher  crowded  with  pupils,  and 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


291 


about  which  his  warm  benevolence  of  heart  and  delightful  ur- 
banity of  manners  combined  to  throw  a charm  which,  amidst  all 
subsequent  changes,  retained  a strong  influence  over  all  who  had 
the  good  fortune  to  listen  to  his  instructions.” 

Distinguished  as  Philadelphia  has  been  for  a hundred  years  as 
the  principal  seat  of  medical  science  on  this  continent,  was  it  ever 
so  distinguished,  so  justly  honored,  for  illustrious  men  in  this  de- 
partment, as  it  was  in  the  era  of  the  administration  of  Wash- 
ington ? 

YI. 

The  women  of  Philadelphia  were  already  distinguished  for  those 
attractions  which  have  been  celebrated  so  much  and  so  justly  in 
more  recent  times.  For  beauty,  grace,  and  intelligence,  the  witty 
Duke  de  Lauzun  confessed  that  he  knew  not  where  they  were 
surpassed ; and  the  gay  Marquis  de  Chastellux  became  enthusiastic 
when  describing  the  dames  and  demoiselles  who  gave  its  life  to 
society  there  at  the  close  of  the  war.  At  the  end  of  seven  years, 
when  Philadelphia  was  made  again  the  centre  of  affairs,  it  was 
found  that  her  coteries  had  lost  in  the  advance  of  material  interests 
none  of  their  refinement  or  spirit,  and  that  whatever  rivalry  was 
threatened  in  commercial  and  industrial  prosperity,  none  could  be 
apprehended  in  social  elegance. 

Preeminent  at  this  period  in  rank  and  in  whatever  adds  an  em- 
bellishment to  the  highest  station,  was  Mrs.  Anne  Bingham,  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Thomas  Willing  and  wife  of  Mr.  William  Bingham,  who 
soon  after  was  created  one  of  the  representatives  of  Pennsylvania 
in  the  national  senate.  Distinguished  among  the  women  of  the 
presidential  court,  Mrs.  Bingham  was  elevated  in  some  respects 
above  them  all,  in  being  the  centre  of  a court  which  was  all  her 
own.  Her  style,  her  beauty,  her  influence,  the  elegance  of  her 
house,  the  taste  and  aristocratic  distinction  of  the  assemblages  which 


292 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


frequently  adorned  it,  liave  become  as  household  words  in  the  city 
which  was  the  scene  of  them,  and  indeed  are  historical  in  the  an- 
nals of  the  higher  social  life  of  America.  Considering  that  she 
died  before  she  was  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  that  she  had  passed 
much  of  her  married  life  abroad,  and  that  the  close  of  it  was  away 
from  home,  and  after  illness  had  withdrawn  her  for  some  time  from 
the  sphere  in  which  she  shone,  we  should  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances find  it  difficult  to  account  for  the  great  traditionary  reputa- 
tion of  her  distinction  and  influence,  which  is  found  in  Philadelphia 
as  fresh  almost  at  the  end  of  half  a century  as  it  was  at  its  begin- 
ning. Her  reputation  was,  in  truth,  the  combined  result  of  several 
causes.  Her  beauty  was  splendid.  Her  figure,  which  was  some- 
what above  the  middle  size,  was  well  made.  Her  carriage  was  light 
and  elegant,  while  ever  marked  by  dignity  and  air.  Her  manners 
were  a gift.  Sprightly,  easy,  winning,  are  terms  which  describe  the 
manners  of  many  women,  but  while  truly  describing  hers,  they 
would  describe  them  imperfectly,  unless  they  gave  the  idea  that 
they  won  from  all  who  knew  her  a special  measure  of  personal  in- 
terest and  relation.  Receiving  neither  service  nor  the  promise  of 
it,  every  one  who  left  her  yet  felt  personally  flattered  and  obliged j 
really  exclusive  in  her  associates,  she  gave  to  none  the  slightest 
offence ; with  great  social  ambition  at  the  basis  of  her  charac- 
ter, no  aspirant  for  the  eminence  of  fashion  felt  that  she  was 
thwarting  her  aims ; and  with  advantages,  personal,  social,  and  ex- 
ternal, such  as  hardly  ever  fail  to  excite  envy  from  her  sex,  such 
was  her  easy  and  happy  turn  of  feeling,  and  such  the  fortunate 
east  of  her  natural  manners,  that  she  seemed  never  to  excite  the  sting 
of  unkindness  nor  so  much  as  awaken  its  slumber  or  repose.  Her 
entertainments  were  distinguished  not  more  for  their  superior  style 
and  frequency  than  for  the  happy  and  discreet  selection  of  her 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


29-3 


guests,  and  lier  own  costume  abroad  was  always  marked  by  that 
propriety  and  grace  which,  while  uniting  costliness,  rarity  and  an 
exquisite  refinement,  subordinates  the  effect  of  them  in  a way  which 
never  invites  comparisons.  In  all  this  she  had  had  the  advantage 
of  a wise  and  courtly  and  affectionate  education.  She  owed  much, 
however,  to  the  command  of  great  wealth,  and  to  a combination 
of  friendly  and  family  advantages  which  her  wealth  enabled  her 
to  illustrate  and  profit  by. 

In  her  father’s  house  we  may  believe  that  Mrs.  Bingham  receiv- 
ed the  best  instruction  which  the  time  and  country  afforded.  Mr. 
Willing  had  himself  been  carefully  educated  at  Bath,  in  England, 
and  although  contemplating  probably  the  career  of  a merchant, 
had  been  liberally  trained  in  classical  studies,  and  had  pursued  for 
some  time  a regular  course  of  legal  reading  as  a student  in  the 
Temple.  From  girlhood  the  beauty  of  this  daughter  had  been  con- 
spicuous, and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  1780,  being  then  just 
sixteen  years  old,  she  was  married  by  the  Beverend  William  White, 
one  of  the  chaplains  to  the  Congress,  and  afterwards  the  first  bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  to  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Bingham,  of  Philadelphia,  who  possessed  larger  estates  than 
any  other  person  in  the  colony.  As  a child  she  had  been  much  at 
home  in  the  family  of  Washington.  Mr.  Willing  and  his  associate 
in  commerce,  Robert  Morris,  as  well  as  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Clymer, 
were  all  members  of  the  Congress  of  1776.  To  the  great  credit 
and  well  known  patriotism  of  the  house  of  Willing  and  Morris  the 
country  owed  its  extrication  from  those  trying  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ments so  familiar  to  the  readers  of  our  revolutionary  history.  The 
character  of  Mr.  Willing  was  in  many  respects  not  unlike  that  of 
Washington,  and  in  the  discretion  of  his  conduct,  the  fidelity  of  his 
professions,  and  the  great  influence,  both  private  and  public,  which 


294 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


belonged  to  him,  the  destined  leader  was  certain  to  find  the  elements 
of  an  affinity  by  which  they  would  be  united  in  the  closest  manner. 
During  a part  of  the  war  the  head-quarters  of  the  General  were 
in  a house  built  on  Mr.  Willing’s  estate  for  his  son-in-law,  Colo- 
nel Byrd,  of  Westover,  in  Virginia,  and  only  separated  from  his  own 
by  the  intervening  grounds  of  his  garden.  In  this  way,  as  well  as 
from  her  domestic  relations  and  immediate  connections  with  the 
families  of  Clymer,  Francis,  Powell,  McCall,  Shippen,  and  others, 
forming  in  that  day,  with  the  Chews,  Allens,  and  two  or  three 
more,  a large  portion  of  the  only  society  with  which  the  Chief  was 
intimate,  Miss  Willing,  even  as  a young  girl,  was  very  frequently 
an  object  of  Washington’s  notice  and  regard.  Another  intimate 
friend  of  the  family,  from  abroad,  was  John  Jay,  who  at  the  time 
of  Miss  Willing’s  marriage  was  in  Spain,  and  who  soon  after  wrote 
to  Mr.  Bingham,  to  congratulate  him  on  his  happiness,  “ from  the 
most  delicate  of  all  connections,  with  one  of  the  most  lovely  of  her 
se£.  As  I am  always  pleased  to  find  those  happy  whom  I think 
deserve  to  be  so,”  he  says,  “ it  gave  me  very  sensible  satisfaction  to 
hear  that  you  had  both  made  so  judicious  a choice,  notwithstand- 
ing the  veil  which  that  sweet  fascinating  passion  often  draws  over 
our  eyes  and  understanding.” 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  that  is,  in  1784,  Mrs.  Bing- 
ham with  her  husband  went  to  Europe.  She  spent  some  time  in 
France,  and  was  presented  at  the  court  of  Louis  XVI.,  where  she 
attracted  particular  attention.  The  eyes  of  cavaliers  might  well 
be  turned  to  such  a representative  of  a nation  whose  successful  con- 
test for  independence  had  won  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Mr. 
Adams  and  his  family  were  then  residing  in  Paris,  and  in  the  diary 
of  Miss  Adams,  for  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  1784,  it  is  recorded 
that  the  Adamses  that  day  dined  with  the  Binghams  at  the  Hotel 
Muscovy.  “ Mi’s.  Bingham,”  says  the  young  lady,  “ gains  my  love 


MI'S  o' Wffi&HJlM  " o 

/slf/J'iJ-:  WZL  JjJJV  G J 


LIBRARY 
or  the 

UNiVtffeUV  OE  ILUNOIS 


* 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


295 


and  admiration  more  and  more  every  time  I see  her ; she  is  possess- 
ed of  greater  ease  and  politeness  in  her  behavior  than  any  person  I 
have  met.”  Two  or  three  months  afterward,  describing  a dinner 
of  Lafyette’s,  Mrs.  Bingham  was  again  encountered : “ She  was,  as 
ever,  engaging ; her  dress  was  of  black  velvet,  with  pink  satin  sleeves 
and  stomacher,  a pink  satin  petticoat,  and  over  it  a skirt  of  white 

crape,  spotted  all  over  with  gray  fur  — the  sides  of  the  gown  open 

» 

in  front,  and  the  bottom  of  the  coat  trimmed  with  paste.  It  was 

superb,  and  the  gracefulness  of  the  person  made  it  appear  to  pecu 

liar  advantage.” 

Her  next  sojourn  was  at  the  Hague,  which  was  still  an  impor- 
tant seat  of  diplomacy.  From  the  Hague  she  passed  into  England, 
where  her  elegance  and  beauty  attracted  more  admiration  than  per 
haps  was  willingly  expressed  by  the  old  court  of  George  IH. 

That  the  American  women  surpass  those  of  any  other  country 
in  beauty  has  long  been  conceded.  Nothing  struck  the  gallant 
French  noblemen,  who  came  here  during  the  war,  so  much  as  the 
charms  of  the  fairer  sex,  in  almost  every  class  of  society.  Young 
John  Quincy  Adams,  soon  after  his  return  from  Russia,  in  1785, 
wrote  to  his  sister,  “ Since  I came  home  I am  grown  more  indiffer- 
ent to  beauty  than  I ever  was  ; it  is  so  common  here  that  it  loses 
half  its  value.”  His  mother  very  nearly  agreed  with  him  on  this 
subject.  “ Notwithstanding  the  English  boast  so  much  of  their 
beauties,”  she  says,  “ I do  not  think  they  have  really  so  much  of  it 
as  you  will  find  amongst  the  same  proportion  of  people  in  America. 
It  is  true  that  their  complexions  are  undoubtedly  fairer  than  the 
French,  and  in  general  their  figures  are  good.  Of  this  they  make 
the  best ; but  I have  not  seen  a lady  in  England  who  can  bear  a 
comparison  with  Mrs.  Bingham,  Mrs.  Platt,  or  a Miss  Hamilton, 
who  is  a Philadelphia  young  lady.  Among  the  most  celebrated 
of  their  beauties  stands  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  who  is  mascu- 


296 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


line  in  her  appearance.  Lady  Salisbury  is  small  and  genteel,  but 
her  complexion  is  bad ; and  Lady  Talbot  is  not  a Mrs.  Bingham, 
who,  taken  altogether,  is  the  finest  woman  I ever  saw.  The  intel- 
ligence of  her  countenance,  or  rather,  I ought  to  say,  its  animation, 
the  elegance  of  her  form,  and  the  affability  of  her  manners,  convert 
you  into  admiration ; and  one  has  only  to  lament  too  much  dissipa- 
tion and  frivolity  of  amusement,  which  have  weaned  her  from  her 

« 

native  country,  and  given  her  a passion  and  thirst  after  all  the  lux- 
uries of  Europe.  The  finest  English  woman  I have  seen  is  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Dana,  brother  to  our  Mr.  Dana.  He  resides 
in  the  country,  but  was  in  London,  with  two  of  his  daughters,  when 
I first  came  here.  I saw  her  first  at  Ranelagh.  I was  struck  with 
her  appearance,  and  endeavored  to  find  who  she  was ; for  she  ap- 
peared like  Calypso  amongst  her  nymphs,  delicate  and  modest. 
She  was  easily  known  from  the  crowd,  as  a stranger.  I had  not 
long  admired  her  before  she  was  brought  by  her  father  and  intro- 
duced to  me,  after  which  she  made  me  a visit,  with  her  sister,  who 
was  much  out  of  health.  At  the  same  time  that  she  has  the  best 
title  of  any  English  woman  I have  seen  to  the  rank  of  a divinity, 
I would  not  have  it  forgotten  that  her  father  is  an  American,  and, 
as  he  was  remarkably  handsome,  no  doubt  she  owes  a large  share 
of  her  beauty  to  him.” 

In  London  the  Adams  family  renewed  their  intimacy  with  the 
Binghams,  and  Miss  Adams  frequently  alludes  to  her  Philadelphia 
friend : “ She  is  coming  quite  into  fashion  here,  and  is  very  much 
admired,”  she  says.  “ The  hairdresser  who  dresses  us  on  court  days 
inquired  of  mama  whether  she  knew  the  lady  ‘ so  much  talked  of 
here  from  America,  Mrs.  Bingham.’  He  had  heard  of  her  from  a 
lady  who  had  seen  her  at  Lord  Duncan’s.  At  last,  speaking  of  Miss 
Hamilton,  he  said,  with  a twirl  of  his  comb,  “ Well,  it  does  not  sig- 
nify, but  the  American  ladies  do  beat  the  English  all  to  nothing ! ” 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


207 


On  tlie  twenty-four tli  of  June,  1787,  Miss  Adams,  now  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam S.  Smith,  writes  in  her  journal:  “Mrs.  Stewart  is  an  agree- 
able woman.  I think  from  the  observation  I have  made  upon  those 
ladies  from  Philadelphia  whom  I have  been  acquainted  with,  that 
they  are  more  easy  in  their  manners,  and  discover  a greater  desire 
to  render  themselves  acceptable,  than  the  women  of  Boston,  where 
education  appears  to  be  better,  and  they  seem  to  be  sensible  of 
their  consequence  in  society.  I have  seen  some  good  specimens 
of  their  brilliancy,  first  in  Mrs.  Bingham,  and  now  in  Mrs.  Stewart.” 
Mrs.  Bingham  remained  abroad  about  five  years.  She  was 
every  where  caressed,  and  the  immense  wealth  at  her  command 
enabled  her  to  maintain  a style  of  life  without  which  beauty,  ele- 
gance, or  worth,  stands  every  where  in  Europe,  but  in  England* 
especially,  only  a slight  chance  of  recognition.  With  her  husband 
she  had  contemplated,  before  leaving  home,  the  building  of  a resi- 
dence, on  their  return,  which  might  illustrate  their  taste,  wealth 
and  hospitality.  The  domestic  architecture  of  London  and  Paris 
was  a subject  of  special  study,  and  the  mansion  of  the  Duke  of 
Manchester,  in  Manchester  Square,  London,  was  selected  as  the 
model  of  the  contemplated  structure  in  Philadelphia — the  dimen- 
sions of  the  original  being  somewhat  enlarged  in  the  copy.  Soon 
after  they  came  back  to  America  they  built  their  palatial  edifice, 
so  well  remembered  by  the  present  generation  as  “ The  Mansion 
House,”  in  Third  street  above  Spruce,  which  was  unhappily  de- 
stroyed a few  years  ago  by  fire.  We  have  since  had  in  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  a few  larger  houses,  but  in  neither  city,  it  may 
be  safely  asserted,  has  there  yet  been  any  establishment  distin- 
guished every  way  by  taste  so  truly  elegant,  and  by  so  marked  an 

* The  English  sometimes  refer  in  an  unamiable  way  to  the  influence  of  the  “ almighty  dol- 
lar ” over  our  countrymen,  as  if  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  in  no  other  country  is  money  so 
“ almighty  ” as  in  England  itself. 

38 


298 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


air  of  rank  and  opulence.  Its  width  was  spacious,  its  height  not 
extended  above  a third  story,  and  it  stood  perhaps  forty  feet  from 
the  ordinary  line  of  the  street,  being  approached  by  a circular  car- 
riage way  of  gravel,  the  access  upon  both  ends  of  which  opened  by 
swinging  gates  of  iron  open  tracery.  A low  wall,  with  an  elegant 
course  of  baluster  upon  it,  defended  the  immediate  front,  and 
connected  the  gates  which  gave  admission.  The  grounds  about 
the  house,  beautifully  diversified  with  walks,  statuary,  shade,  and 
parterres,  covered  not  less  than  three  acres.  They  extended  the 
whole  distance,  three  hundred  and  ninety-six  feet,  from  Third  to 
Fourth  street,  and  along  Fourth  street  two  hundred  and  ninety-two 
feet  from  Spruce,  to  the  lot  subsequently  bought,  built  upon,  and 
occupied  by  the  late  Mr.  John  Sergeant.  On  Third  street  the  line 
extended  north  toward  the  house  of  her  father,  as  far  as  that  of 
her  uncle,  Mr.  Powell,  afterwards  of  the  late  Mr.  William  Rawle ; 
so  that  the  whole  square,  from  Willing’s  alley  to  Spruce  street, 
along  Fourth  — filled  now  by  fifty-four  fine  houses  — was  occupied 
only  by  the  houses *of  her  father,  Mr.  Thomas  Willing,  her  aunt, 
Mrs.  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  another  aunt,  Mrs.  Powell,  and 
her  own  princely  abode.* 

* Among  Mrs.  Bingham’s  admirers,  in  her  girlhood,  'while  she  remained  abroad,  and  to  the 
end  of  her  career,  was  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  in  one  of  his  letters  to  her,  written  from  Paris  about  a 
year  after  her  return  to  Philadelphia,  gives  in  his  peculiarly  lively  and  agreeable  style  a con- 
trast of  foreign  and  American  fashionable  life.  “ I know,  madam,”  he  says,  “ that  the  twelve- 
month  is  not  yet  expired ; but  it  will  be,  nearly,  before  this  will  have  the  honor  of  being  put 
into  your  hands.  You  are  then  engaged  to  tell  me,  truly  and  honestly,  whether  you  do  not  find 
the  tranquil  pleasures  of  America  preferable  to  the  empty  bustle  of  Paris.  For  to  what  does 
that  bustle  tend  1 At  eleven  o’clock  it  is  day,  chez  madame.  The  curtains  are  drawn.  Propped 
on  bolsters  and  pillows,  and  her  head  scratched  into  a little  order,  the  bulletins  of  the  sick  are 
read,  and  the  billets  of  the  welL  She  writes  to  some  of  her  acquaintance,  and  receives  the  visits 
of  others.  If  the  morning  is  not  very  thronged,  she  is  able  to  get  out  and  hobble  round  the  cage 
of  the  Palais  Royal ; but  she  must  hobble  quickly,  for  the  coiffeur's  turn  is  come ; and  a tremen 
dous  turn  it  is!  Happy,  if  he  does  not  make  her  arrive  when  dinner  is  half  over!  The  torpi 
tude  of  digestion  a little  passed,  she  flutters  half  an  hour  through  the  streets,  by  way  of  paying 
visits,  and  then  to  the  spectacles.  These  finished,  another  half  hour  is  devoted  to  dodging  ir 
and  out  of  the  doors  of  her  very  sincere  friends,  and  away  to  supper.  After  supper,  cards ; and 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


299 


I have  said  that  Mrs.  Bingham  in  some  sort  maintained  a court 
of  her  own.  Her  family  connection  was  numerous,  of  great  influ- 
ence, and  located  generally  about  her,  the  south-eastern  part  being 
then  the  fashionable  end  of  the  town.  The  venerable  abode  of 
her  cousin,  Chief  Justice  Shippen,  was  on  Fourth  street,  opposite 
to  Willing’s  alley ; the  house  of  another  cousin,  Mrs.  Harrison,  was 
also  in  Fourth  street,  opposite  the  Bingham  mansion ; the  seques- 
tered and  stately  home  of  her  more  remote  kinsman,  Mr.  Archibald 
McCall,  was  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Pine  and  Third  streets ; 
Mrs.  Blackwell,  her  sister-in-law  (the  sister  of  her  husband  and  the 
wife  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Robert  Blackwell,  whose  only  daughter 
her  brother  George  had  married),  lived  in  Pine  street,  below  Third ; 
her  connection,  Colonel  Thomas  Lloyd  Moore,  a very  elegant  mili- 
tary man  of  that  time,  whose  only  daughter  another  brother  had 
married,  was  not  far  below,  and  M.  Barbe  Marbois,*  who  had  mar- 

after  cards,  bed ; to  rise  at  noon  the  next  day,  and  to  tread,  like  a mill-horse,  the  same  trodden 
circle  over  again.  Thus  the  days  of  life  are  consumed,  one  by  one,  without  an  object  beyond 
the  present  moment ; ever  flying  from  the  ennui  of  that,  yet  carrying  it  with  us ; eternally  in 
pursuit  of  happiness,  which  keeps  eternally  before  us.  If  death  or  bankruptcy  happen  to  trip 
us  out  of  the  circle,  it  is  matter  for  the  buzz  of  the  evening,  and  is  completely  forgotten  by  the 
next  morning.  In  America,  on  the  other  hand,  the  society  of  your  husband,  the  fond  cares  for 
the  children,  the  arrangements  of  the  house,  the  improvements  of  the  grounds,  fill  every  moment 
with  a healthy  and  an  useful  activity.  Every  exertion  is  encouraging,  because  to  present  amuse- 
ment it  joins  the  promise  of  some  future  good.  The  intervals  of  leisure  are  filled  by  the  society 
of  real  friends,  whose  affections  are  not  thinned  to  cobweb  by  being  spread  over  a thousand 
objects.  This  is  the  picture,  in  the  light  it  is  presented  to  my  mind ; now  let  me  have  it  in  yours. 
If  we  do  not  concur  this  year,  we  shall  the  next;  or  if  not  then,  in  a year  or  two  more.  You 
see  I am  determined  not  to  suppose  myself  mistaken. . . . The  workmen  of  Paris  are  making 
rapid  strides  towards  English  perfection.  Would  you  believe,  that  in  the  course  of  the  last  two 
years,  they  have  learned  even  to  surpass  their  London  rivals  in  some  articles  ? Commission  me 
to  have  you  a phaeton  made,  and  if  it  is  not  as  much  handsomer  than  a London  one  as  that  is 
than  a fiacre,  send  it  back  to  me.  Shall  I fill  the  box  with  caps,  bonnets,  &c.  ? Not  of  my  own 
choosing,  but — I was  going  to  say,  of  Mademoiselle  Bertin’s,  forgetting  for  the  moment  that  she 
too  is  bankrupt.  They  shall  be  chosen  then  by  whom  you  please ; or,  if  you  are  altogether  non- 
plussed by  her  eclipse,  we  will  call  an  Assemblee  des  Notables,  to  help  you  out  of  the  difficulty, 
as  is  now  the  fashion.'  In  short,  honor  me  with  your  commands  of  any  kind,  and  they  shall  be 
faithfully  executed.” 

* Ante,  page  81 ; note. 


300 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ried  a sister  of  Colonel  Moore,  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity ; so 
that  Mrs.  Bingham  had  only  to  issue  her  commands  to  her  own  cir- 
cle of  connections  to  have  her  halls  filled  with  an  assemblage  every 
way  fit  to  grace  them.  I have  already  mentioned  the  access  to  the 
house ; its  entrance  was  not  raised  at  all,  as  is  the  modern  style,  to 
a kind  of  second  story,  but  it  brought  the  visitor  by  a single  step 
upon  the  wide  pave  of  tesselated  marble,  which  will  be  remem- 
bered even  in  the  more  recent  history  of  “ The  Mansion  House.” 
Its  self-supporting  broad  stairway  of  fine  white  marble  — the  first 
of  that  description,  probably,  ever  known  in  America  — leading  to 
the  second  story,  gave  a truly  Roman  elegance  to  the  passage.  On 
the  left  hand,  as  the  visitor  entered,  were  parlors ; on  the  right,  a 
room  designed  for  a study ; and  opposite,  separated  by  a lateral 
hall,  a library.  In  the  second  story,  on  the  south,  were  a drawing- 
room and  card-rooms,  the  windows  of  which,  looking  down  on  an 
extensive  conservatory,  adjacent  to  the  lower  parlors  on  the  same 
side,  revealed  a delicious  prospect.  Various  and  extensive  domestic 
offices  adjoined  the  house  upon  the  west.  Much  of  the  furniture,  in- 
cluding the  carpets,  which  were  remarkable  for  their  elegant  rich- 
ness, had  been  made  in  France.  The  halls  were  hung  with  pictures, 
of  which  the  greater  number  had  been  selected  in  Italy  ;*  and  the 
library  was  well  filled  with  the  best  authors  of  the  day.  Many 
remnants  of  this  beautiful  furniture  are  still  preserved  by  Mrs. 
Bingham’s  relatives,  and  are  sometimes  displayed  as  illustrations  of 
the  truth  that  the  taste  of  Philadelphia  has  not  increased  in  propor- 
tion to  her  wealth  and  population. 

In  addition  to  this  town  establishment  Mrs.  Bingham  possessed 
the  elegant  retreat  of  Lansdowne,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill, formerly  belonging  to  the  Penns — a place  which  she  laid  out 

* A fine  Magdalen,  after  Corregio,  is  now  at  Mayfield,  near  Philadelphia,  the  seat  of  Mr.  G.  H 
Thomson,  whose  amiable  and  accomplished  wife  I believe  is  a niece  of  Mrs.  Bingham’s. 


301 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

■with,  great  taste,  and  at  which  she  passed  her  summers.  At  both 
places,  particularly  at  Lansdowue,  Washington  was  a frequent  visi- 
tor. In  both  she  lived  with  an  elegant  hospitality.  Her  youth, 
beauty,  rank,  and  wealth,  with  the  frequency,  variety,  and  tasteful 
richness  of  her  entertainments,  made  her  acquaintance  highly  de- 
sirable ; and  her  husband’s  public  character,  as  a member  of  the 
national  Senate,  her  father’s  long  and  honorable  career  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  country,  her  connexion,  Major  Jackson’s,  intimate  asso- 
ciations as  one  of  the  private  and  confidential  secretaries  of  the 
President,  and  her  own  residence  in  France,  England,  and  oth- 
er parts  of  Europe,  conspired  to  draw  around  her  a circle  of 
men  and  women  of  the  very  first  class,  in  rank,  elegance,  and  ac- 
complishment. Philadelphia  was  now  the  metropolis  ; all  that  the 
United  States  contained,  illustrious  in  statesmanship,  was  assembled 
there,  and  as  the  capital  of  the  country  it  was  the  residence  as  well 
of  the  several  diplomatic  representatives  of  Europe  as  of  numerous 
truly  eminent  persons  whom  choice  or  vicissitudes  had  brought  to- 
gether in  the  new  empire,  which  was  becoming  a mystery  and  a 
wonder  and  was  shattering  by  its  noble  example  of  liberty  all  the 
traditional  despotisms  of  the  world.  I have  dwelt  thus  long  and 
with  such  particularity  upon  the  fame  and  circumstances  of  Mrs. 
Bingham,  because  she  was  unquestionably  at  the  head  of  American 
society,  because  the  style  in  which  she  lived  illustrated  the  highest 
refinement  and  splendor  known  in  the  country,  and  because  its 
striking  contrast  from  the  simple  manner  in  which  the  President 
lived  showed  the  utter  profligacy  of  those  political  agitators  who 
made  the  cry  of  an  “ anglo-monarchic  aristocracy,”  composed  of 
“ the  executive,  the  judiciary,  and  the  officers  of  the  government,” 
a senseless,  ridiculous  and  wicked  means  of  organizing  the  elements 
of  vulgar  baseness  throughout  the  republic  against  the  faultless  ad- 
ministration of  Washington. 


302 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


For  wealth  Mrs.  Bingham  was  the  most  distinguished  of  her 
family ; but  her  mother,  Mrs.  Thomas  Willing,  was  hardly  less 
remarkable  for  beauty  than  herself,  and  indeed  so  much  resembled 
her  as  to  make  it  a question  and  almost  a dispute  among  their 
friends  whether  the  mother  or  the  daughter  was  the  most  beauti- 
ful. A fine  picture  by  Peale,  yet  in  the  possession  of  one  of  her 
descendants,  renders  this  very  easy  to  believe.  Other  members  of 
the  Willing  family,  in  different  generations,  then  all  living,  were 
Mrs.  Tench  Francis,  Mrs.  Stirling,  wife  of  Admiral  Stirling,  of 
Scotland,  Mrs.  Powell,  a lady  of  large  fortune  and  some  literary 
pretensions,  Mrs.  Jackson,  wife  of  Major  William  Jackson,  Wash- 
ington’s secretary,  Mrs.  Dolly  Willing  Francis,  Mrs.  Richard 
Peters,  whom  as  Miss  Abby  Willing  Louis  Philippe  is  said  very 
greatly  to  have  admired,  and  Mrs.  Clymer. 

Among  these,  as  more  especially  connected  with  the  court  of 
Washington,  it  is  proper  to  mention  particularly  Mrs.  William  Jack- 
son.  This  elegant  woman,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Wil- 
ling, was  the  second  daughter  of  Mi*.  Thomas  Willing,  and  a sister, 
therefore,  of  Mrs.  Bingham.  Though  less  beautiful  than  her  elder 
sister,  her  person  and  countenance  were  highly  engaging,  and  she 
was  remarkable  from  girlhood  for  the  sprightliness  and  grace  of 
both  her  mind  and  manners.  In  her  earlier  years  she  had  of  course 
seen  much  of  Washington  at  her  father’s  house,  and  she  had  some- 
times been  a familiar  guest  at  the  table  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  where, 
it  is  recorded  in  his  diary,  he  sometimes  dined  “ in  great  splen- 
dor.” But  it  is  perhaps  more  in  virtue  of  her  husband’s  history  and 
position,  than  of  her  own,  that  she  here  deserves  especial  atten- 
tion. Major  William  Jackson  for  many  years  held  an  intimate 
personal  relation  to  Washington,  and  was  at  all  times  regarded  by 
him  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  esteem.  He  was  born  of  a good 
family  in  Cumberland,  England,  and  had  entered  the  southern 


New  Yurk 


library 

of  m 

UNIVERSiVt  Uf  ILLINOIS 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


303 


department  of  the  continental  army  in  the  very  beginning  of  the 
revolutionary  struggle,  that  is,  in  June,  1775,  when  he  was  not 
yet  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  served  with  honor  in  different  en- 
gagements, and  in  several  commissions  of  important  -trust,  and  for 
several  years,  under  General  Lincoln,  filled  the  office  of  Assistant 
Secretary  of  War,  which  he  resigned,  greatly  to  General  Lincoln’s 
regret,  only  when  the  peace  of  1789  rendered  it  practicable  for 
him  to  retire  from  his  post  without  injury  to  the  public  service. 
After  the  organization  of  the  federal  government  he  was  invited 
by  Washington  to  join  him  as  aid-de-camp  and  private  secretary, 
and  in  this  situation  he  remained  until  the  year  1793,  when  he 
sailed  for  Europe  upon  private  business.  He  appears  to  have  given 
great  satisfaction  to  Washington,  who  stated  that  “ his  deport- 
ment had  been  regulated  by  principles  of  integrity  and  honor,” 
and  “ the  duties  of  his  station  executed  with  ability,”  and  with 
expressions  of  “ sincere  esteem  and  regard  ” embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity to  thank  him  for  all  his  attentions,  and  for  the  services  he 
had  rendered  him  ever  since  he  had  been  a member  of  the  presi- 
dential family. 

It  was  this  near  personal  relation  of  Major  Jackson  to  the 
president  which  afterwards  gave  to  the  lady  I am  writing  of  her 
marked  distinction  in  the  circle  of  the  Republican  Court.  Wash- 
ington was  present  at  her  marriage,  in  the  venerable  mansion  of 
Mr.  Willing,  which,  having  stood  for  one  hundred  and  eleven 
years,  has  just  given  way  to  the  so  called  improvements  of  modern 
times*  That  whole  region  of  a great  city  has  long  since  changed 

* While  in  Philadelphia  last  summer  (1856),  pursuing  researches  respecting  the  social  history  of 
that  city,  with  a view  to  render  this  edition  of  “ The  Republican  Court  ” as  complete  and  accurate 
as  possible  in  its  delineation  of  the  higher  life  of  our  first  metropolis,  during  the  administration 
of  our  first  president,  the  following  paragraphs  arrested  my  attention  in  The  Evening  Bulletin.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  by  whom  they  were  written,  but  they  are  so  pertinent  to  my  pres- 
ent subject  that  the  reader  will  approve  my  transcribing  them. 

“ One  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  original  first  class  buildings  of  Philadelphia  is  soon  to  be  de- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


304 

its  aspects.  Elegance  no  longer  reigns  there,  and  the  abodes  of 
rank  and  fashion  are  passing  — have  passed  indeed  — into  the 
money-getting  uses  ot  “ men  of  enterprise.”  It  was  on  a beauti- 
ful afternoon  *m  September,  in  the  hours  towards  evening,  which 
business  had  left  to  repose  and  quiet,  that,  wending  through  some 
of  the  ancient  parts  of  the  city,  always  interesting  to  me,  my  steps 
were  arrested  by  the  venerable  aspect  of  this  house.  It  had  just 


molished,  and  a successor  more  in  accordance  with  the  progress  of  the  city  and  the  demands  of  the 
age  wiL  be  erected  upon  its  site.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  have  purchased  the  ‘ Wil- 
ling Mansion,’  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Third  street  and  Willing’s  alley,  and  this  relic  of  the  sub- 
stantial architecture  of  the  Philadelphia  of  more  than  a century  ago,  will  soon  be  torn  down'  to  make 
way  for  a handsome  building  for  the  use  of  the  company  as  an  office.  The  old  structure,  although 
so  far  behind  the  age,  is  still  a fine  specimen  of  a commodious  and  substantial  dwelling.  Its  wide 
front,  and  the  spacious  hall  that  runs  through  the  middle  of  the  building,  are  in  striking  contrast 
with  too  many  of  the  fashionable  residences  of  the  present  day.  The  Willing  Mansion  was  begun  in 
1745,  and  -was  finished  the  following  year.  It  was  built  by  Mr.  John  Palmer,  who  was  well  known 
in  his  day  as  a bricklayer.  It  was  he  who  built  St.  Peter’s  church  and  many  others  of  the  best 
structures  that  were  put  up  in  Philadelphia  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Mr.  Palmer,  the 
builder,  was  the  father  of  the  late  Mr.  John  B.  Palmer,  who  was  for  many  years  the  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  of  the  Mutual  Assurance  Company.  The  old  mansion  was  occupied  for  many  years  by 
the  Willing  family,  but  for  a considerable  period,  more  recently,  it  has  been  used  for  a boarding 
house.  The  building  itself  has  been  extensively  modernized,  but  its  vicinity  has  undergone  still 
greater  changes.  Half  a century  ago  there  were  but  four  or  five  buildings  upon  the  west  side  of 
Third  street,  between  Willing’s  alley  and  Spruce  street.  Bingham’s  splendid  mansion  and  grounds 
occupied  a large  share  of  the  southern  portion  of  this  space,  while  spacious  gardens  intervened  be- 
tween the  Chew  Mansion  and  the  Willing  Mansion  at  the  comer  of  the  alley.  The  Willing  property 
extended  westward  to  Fourth  street.  At  the  mansion  of  Chief  Justice  Chew,  just  referred  to,  Wash- 
ington had  his  head  quarters  at  one  time. 

“ We  are  informed  by  Mr.  John  F.  Watson,  the  annalist,  that  the  Willing  Mansion  was  built 
after  the  form  and  model  of  the  homestead  building  of  the  family  at  Bristol,  England.  The  door 
posts  and  pediments  which  still  occupy  their  original  position  in  the  front  of  the  building  are  of  Bath 
stone  ; they  were  imported  from  England  all  ready  for  putting  up.  Mr.  Watson  informs  us  that 
when  the  mansion  was  built  it  was  a kind  of  a country  retirement,  being  beyond  Dock  creek,  and 
consequently  at  that  period  out  of  town  ! To  reach  the  house  you  went  up  hill  along  Walnut  street, 
from  the  creek,  to  Third  street,  and  thence  again  by  a narrow,  deep-cut  road  up  a greater  hill  to  the 
mansion.  This  neighborhood  was  called  ‘ The  Hill,’  in  old  times,  but  the  high  ground  that  gave 
it  this  distinction  has  long  since  been  almost  levelled  down,  while  the  line  of  the  creek  has  been 
filled  up.  Among  the  ancient  landmarks  of  the  neighborhood  is  the  old  buttonwood  tree  that  still 
stands  in  front  of  the  Willing  Mansion.  The  writer  of  this  article  remembers  when  a boy,  tliirty 
years  ago,  gathering  ‘ buttonballs  ’ from  beneath  the  wide-spread  branches  of  this  tree,  and  he 
remembers,  too.  marvelling  much  at  how  the  hitching  post  at  the  door  had  grown  into  the  spreading 
base  of  the  tree,  and  how  it  was  held  there  as  firmly  as  "though  it  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  living 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


305 


been  abandoned  to  the  invader ; every  inhabitant  had  departed  ; 
but  the  stroke  of  demolition  had  not  yet  fallen  upon  its  walls.  Its 
fine  doorway  stood  open,  and  I entered.  It  was  a noble  mansion, 
and  I could  not  but  regret  that  the  opulent  proprietors  of  such 
places  as  these  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  do  not  approve  the 
spirit  which  prevails  in  older  lands,  by  defying  trade  and  improve- 
ment, in  building  up  facades  like  that  of  Northumberland  House, 
which  shuts  off  the  whole  world  of  London  and  its  Charing  Cross 
from  one  “ home  of  the  Percies,”  leaving  all  behind  at  least  to 
an  ancient  and  honorable  possession.  As  I passed  through  its  ex- 
tensive halls  and  numerous  apartments  I could  not  refrain  from 
calling  up  many  a spectacle  of  which  this  domus  antiqua  had  been 
the  scene,  in  the  course  of  that  century  and  more,  in  which  it  had 
been  occupied  by  a family  eminently  social  and  long  distinguished 
in  the  ranks  of  gentility  and  fashion.  It  was  in  the  very  room, 


timber.  The  base  of  the  old  tree  had  a habit  of  absorbing  and  growing  around  every  object  that 
came  in  its  way,  and  at  some  future  day  the  bricks  grown  up  into  the  heart  of  the  trunk  may  do 
damage  to  the  saws  or  axes  of  those  who  attempt  to  convert  it  into  plank  or  fire-wood.  This  vene- 
rable tree,  and  the  one  that  stood  to  the  south  of  it,  were  planted  in  1749  by  Messrs.  Thomas  Wil- 
ling and  John  Palmer.  The  southern  one  became  much  decayed,  and  was  cut  down  several  years 
since ; but  the  other  tree  still  stands  green  and  erect,  although  it  has  been  shorn  of  most  of  its 
branches.  We  presume  the  sturdy  old  trunk  will  soon  have  to  share  the  fate  of  its  fellow,  and  the 
mansion  they  both  shaded  so  long  and  so  faithfully. 

“ The  Willing  family  has  for  a century  and  a quarter  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  Philadelphia 
society.  We  find  the  name  among  the  early  merchants  of  the  city,  and  it  is  conspicuous  in  the  an- 
cient records  of  the  city  government.  In  1747  the  name  of  Mr.  Charles  Willing  first  appears  as 
an  alderman  in  the  records  of  the  City  Council.  A year  later  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  the  city, 
and  on  his  retirement  from  that  office,  after  a term  of  one  year,  we  find  him  presenting  to  the  trea- 
sury the  one  hundred  pounds  salary  just  voted  him.  This  he  returned  to  the  treasury  in  lieu  of  the 
entertainment  usually  given  to  the  corporation  by  the  retiring  mayors.  In  1754  Mr.  Charles  AVil- 
ling  was  again  elected  mayor,  and  in  1763  Mr.  Thomas  Willing  held  the  same  office.  Mr.  Thomas 
Willing,  who  died  in  1821,  aged  89  years,  was  probably  better  known  in  Philadelphia  than  any  other 
person  of  his  name.  This  gentleman,  from  1754  to  1807  successively  held  the  offices  of  Secretary 
to  the  Congress  of  Delegates  at  Albany,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  her  representative  in 
the  General  Assembly,  President  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  delegate  to  the  Congress  of  the  Con- 
federation, President  of  the  first  chartered  Bank  in  America,  and  President  of  the  first  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  In  addition  to  all  these  public  duties,  Mr.  Thomas  Willing  was  an  active  merchant 
for  a period  of  sixty  years.” 


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iiow  deserted  and  dismantled,  in  wliicli  I was  standing,  tliat,  sur- 
rounded by  as  many  “ fair  women  and  brave  men  ” as  ever  graced 
such  an  occasion,  William  Jackson,  some  sixty  years  before,  bad 
given  bis  band  to  Ebzabetb  Willing.  It  was  a November  even- 
ing, and  that  fine  old  bouse  bad  been  decorated  and  lighted  for  a 
festive  display.  Tbe  venerable  gentleman  whom  I bave  so  often 
referred  to,  its  proprietor,  and  tbe  partner  of  bis  honorable  life, 
were  moved  by  all  tbe  feeling  which  attends  tbe  surrender  of  a 
lovely  child  to  tbe  vicissitudes  of  a new  condition.  Washington 
was  there ; Robert  Morris  also ; and  Hamilton,  Lincoln,  and  Knox, 
in  full  military  dress,  gratified  with  tbe  opportunity  to  manifest 
their  interest  in  an  event  so  important  to  one  who  bad  long  been 
their  companion  in  arms.  Tbe  elegant  Count  de  Noailles  was  also 
present.  Mrs.  Bingham  never  looked  so  magnificently  beautiful 
as  on  this  occasion,  when,  endeavoring,  with  tbe  confidence  of  one 
more  used  to  such  circumstances,  to  lend  support  to  her  younger 
sister,  her  own  suffused  cheeks  bore  witness  of  tbe  gentle  agitation 
which  moved  her  bosom.  There  too  stood  a circle  of  lovely  girls, 
sisters  yet  younger  than  she  on  whom  all  eyes  were  now  turned. 
President  Chew,  long  an  eminent  representative  of  bis  country’s 
justice,  looked  on  with  pleased  attention.  Tbe  venerable  White 
and  bis  friend  Blackwell,  associated  pastor-s,  sanctified  tbe  scene. 

It  required  some  effort  to  dissipate  tbe  reverie.  In  that  ancient 
bouse  are  no  more  brilliant  or  joyous  assemblies ; “ its  lights  are 
fled,  its  garlands  dead.”  One  only  of  that  bright  assembly  now 
survives ; but  that  survivor  is  tbe  bride.  At  tbe  age  of  eighty- 
eight  tbe  Elizabeth  Wilbng  of  that  evening  still  looks  out  upon 
tbe  city  so  dear  to  her  for  its  marvellous  and  sweet  associations, 
but  changed,  even  more  than  she  herself  is  changed.  Long  known 
as  tbe  widow  of  Major  Jackson  — her  eye  as  beaming,  her  form  as 
light,  her  step  as  quick,  those  who  see  her  only  now  would  say, 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


307 


as  they  would  ever  have  been  in  the  bloom  and  grace  ot  youthful 
maturity  — her  house  the  abode  of  order,  taste,  and  elegant  com- 
petence, herself  the  object  of  affectionate  interest  and  service  from 
her  children  and  her  friends.  Mrs.  Jackson  is  not  only  the  sole  sur- 
vivor of  the  occasion  I have  recalled,  but  the  only  living  repre- 
sentative of  the  especial  entourage  of  Washington:  of  those  ladies, 
I mean,  whose  husbands  held  positions  near  the  person  of  the 
President.  Mrs.  Bradford,  who  survived  Mrs.  Hamilton,  was  the 
last  of  those  whose  husbands  were  in  his  cabinet ; she  was  living 
when  the  earlier  editions  of  this  work  appeared,  but  has  since  been 
united  to  those  who  went  before  her.* 


* Mrs.  Bradford  died  at  her  seat  in  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  on  the  thirtieth  of  November,  1854, 
at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  The  rector  of  St.  Mary’s,  in  his  address  to  the  graduating  class  of 
March,  1855,  thus  refers  to  her ; “ There  are  two  new  graves  in  sweet  St.  Mary’s  Churchyard,  to 
which  my  heart  must  ever  turn.  I have  stood  at  both  of  them  within  four  months.  And  there  were 
tears  of  mine  mixed  with  the  earth,  in  both.  Pastoral  tears.  Love’s  tears.  Tears  of  sorrow.  But 
not  of  one  who  ‘ sorrows  as  others,  who  have  no  hope.’  Come  with  me,  darlings,  for  a moment  to 
their  graves.  In  the  grave  that  we  shall  go  to  first,  sleeps  one  who  had  seen  ninety  winters.  Think 
of  that,  my  children ! Ninety  winters  ! She  was  twelve  years  older  than  our  nation.  She  was  of 
patriot  blood.  And  was,  herself,  a patriot.  Scarcely  an  earthly  blessing,  that  was  not  mixed  in  her 
full  cup.  Position  ; influence ; wealth  ; domestic  happiness  ; troops  of  friends  ; good  health,  for 
more  than  eighty  years  : what  the  world  calls  a prosperous  fortune,  was  never  more  completely  re- 
alized. And,  yet,  they  did  not  spoil  her.  They  did  not  touch  the  substance  of  her  souL  She  only 
seemed  to  know  them,  as  the  motives  for  habitual  thankfulness.  She  was  the  simplest,  the  humblest, 
the  gentlest,  the  least  selfish,  of  women.  She  was  the  ‘ little  child,  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the 
world,  she  was  not  of  the  world.  Or,  only,  of  it,  to  be  a blessing  to  it.  The  freest  from  faults,  of 
any  one  I ever  knew  ; she  was  the  most  penitential.  With  a hand  that  scattered  bounties,  like  the 
spring ; with  a tongue  that  dropped  blessings,  like  the  dew ; with  a heart  which  realized,  as  far  as 
human  nature  may,  the  apostolic  portraiture  of  love  ; kind,  envying  not,  thinking  no  evil,  believing 
all  things,  hoping  all  things,  enduring  all  things : she,  yet,  could  find  no  word  of  David,  strong 
enough  to  bear  the  impression  of  her  own  unworthiness.  In  the  habitual,  lifelong,  practice  of 
‘ whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  venerable,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report  ; if  there  be  any 
virtue,  if  there  be  any  praise : ’ the  prayer  which  seemed  to  her  the  most  expressive  of  her  case  and 
character,  was,  ‘ God  be  merciful  to  me,  the  sinner ! ’ Thus  moulded,  and  sustained  by  grace,  the 
purchase  of  the  cross,  through  her  long  life  ; her  daily  effort,  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God,  her 
Saviour,  in  all  things  ; the  posture,  which  Mrs.  Bradford  chose,  to  die  in,  was  that  of  His  own  lit- 
tle, trusting,  child  : and,  ‘ Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus,’  were  the  words,  which  bore  her  parting 
spirit,  to  its  resting-place,  in  Paradise.” 


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VII. 

Next,  probably,  in  social  importance  and  exhibition,  to  Mrs. 
Bingham  and  the  Willings,  was  the  establishment  of  Mrs.  Robert 
Morris.  Her  husband’s  partnership,  through  thirty-nine  years,  in 
the  commercial  house  of  the  Willings,  had  been  the  source  of  a 
steady,  honorable  and  liberal  income,  and  when  he  retired  from  it 
in  1793  it  was  with  solid  opulence,  and  only  to  engage  in  plans  of 
greater,  but,  as  many  supposed,  not  less  certain  wealth  than  he 
had  drawn  from  the  India  connections  in  which  he  had  been  so 
long  and  prosperously  engaged  with  Mr.  Willing.  Of  his  public 
reputation  I have  spoken  elsewhere.  It  belongs  to  the  history  of 
America  ; and  the  elegant  Botta  has  not  in  the  least  exaggerated 
his  services  in  saying  that  the  country  “ owes  as  much  to  the  finan- 
cial operations  of  Robert  Morris  as  to  the  negotiations  of  Benja- 
min Franklin.”  His  patriotic  services  were  well  known  and  justly 
estimated  in  his  lifetime.  He  was  high  in  the  grateful  regard  of 
Washington,*  and  of  all  those  warriors  and  statesmen  who  had 
participated  in  the  private  councils  of  the  chief,  and  knew  from 
what  impending  ruin  the  fiscal  achievements  of  Mr.  Morris  had  at 
times  saved  our  armies.  Undoubtedly  he  was  a character  of  the 


* The  following  incident  of  President  Washington’s  last  levee,  on  his  retiring  from  the  presidency, 
was  mentioned  by  the  late  Mr.  John  B.  Wallace,  who,  as  a youth,  was  present,  with  his  father,  then  a 
resident  of  Burlington  in  New  Jersey,  on  that  occasion,  and  a witness  of  it.  Washington  received 
his  guests,  standing  between  the  windows  in  his  back  drawing-room.  The  company,  entering  a front 
room,  and  passing  through  an  unfolding  door,  made  their  salutations  to  the  President,  and,  turning 
off,  stood  on  one  side.  His  manner  was  courteous,  of  course,  but  always  on  these  occasions  some- 
what reserved.  He  did  not  give  his  hand,  but  merely  bowed,  which  was  the  mode  for  that  day. 
Mr.  Morris  came  in,  and  when  the  President  saw  him,  entering  the  room,  he  advanced  to  meet  him, 
and  shook  him  heartily  by  the  hand  : Mr.  Morris,  in  allusion  partly,  perhaps,  to  the  day,  which  may 
have  been  cloudy,  but  more  to  the  event,  repeating  as  he  came  forward  the  lines  — 

“ The  day  is  overcast,  the  morning  lowers, 

And  heavily  in  clouds  brings  on  the  day — 

The  great  the  important  day.” 


library 

OF  M 

UNWLKSHY  OF  1LUMGSS 


LIBRARY 

OF  THF 

UNIVERSt  I v i»* 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


309 


first  class,  and  being  eminently  insinuating  and  attractive  in  bis 
manners,  and  having  a taste  for  social  display,  his  public  position 
and  his  liberal  fortune  enabled  him  to  indulge  this  disposition 
with  splendor,  dignity,  and  effect.  “ An  introduction  to  Mr.  Mor- 
ris,” says  a writer,  in  giving  his  reminiscences  of  the  time,  “ was  a 
matter  in  course  with  all  strangers  who  visited  Philadelphia,  either 
on  commercial,  public,  or  private  business.  It  largely  depended 
on  him  to  do  the  honors  of  the  city,  and  certainly  no  one  was  bet- 
ter qualified  or  more  willing  to  support  them.  His  house  was  a 
seat  of  elegant  but  unostentatious  hospitality,  and  his  domestic 
affairs  were  managed  with  the  same  admirable  order  which  had  so 
long  and  so  proverbially  distinguished  his  counting  house,  the  office 
of  the  secret  committee  of  Congress,  and  that  of  finance.” 

His  wife,  Mary  "White,  a daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  White, 
originally  of  England,  and  afterwards  of  Harford  county,  Mary- 
land, was  a sister  of  the  well  known  and  venerable  Dr.  White, 
the  first  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania.  Though 
not,  like  Mrs.  Bingham,  distinguished  at  this  time  for  youth  and 
splendid  beauty,  Mrs.  Morris  wras  remarkable  for  her  striking  and 
dignified  appearance,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  accompanying 
portrait  of  her,  which  has  been  copied  from  one  by  the  elder 
Peale,  now  adorning  the  Hall  of  Independence.  So  impressive 
was  her  air  and  demeanor,  that  those  who  saw  her  once  seldom 
forgot  her ; and  it  was  an  incident  of  General  Lafayette’s  visit  to 
this  country  in  1824  that,  when  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  publicly  escorted  through  crowds  of  admiring  and  grateful  citi- 
zens who  thronged  every  place  to  behold  him,  he  instantly,  in  passing 
before  her  door,  recognized  from  his  barouche  — among  the  thou- 
sands who  lined  the  streets  and  casements  and  housetops,  to  see 
and  to  cheer  him  — the  tall  and  venerable  person  of  Mrs.  Morris, 
then  standing  at  her  own  window.  At  this  time  he  had  not  seen 


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her  for  nearly  forty  years,*  and,  rising  to  salute  her,  as  he  turned 
his  manly  and  erected  figure  towards  her  house  and  bowed,  with 
the  military  grace  of  France,  the  plaudits  of  the  people,  who  un- 
derstood the  incident,  seemed  as  if  they  would  never  cease. 

A proper  respect  for  the  sacred  character  and  office  of  her 
brother,  Bishop  White,  and  not  less  the  dignity  of  her  husband’s 
fame,  would  naturally  have  restrained  Mrs.  Morris  from  any  unbe- 
coming or  excessive  devotion  to  mere  fashion,  even  if  she  had 
been  inclined  to  it.  But  she  had  a fine  taste  for  the  worldly  dig- 
nity of  life,  and  in  her  house  was  found  a steady  exhibition  of  its 
most  solid  forms.  Mr.  Morris  had  given  up  to  the  President  a fine 
mansion  in  which  he  had  lived  before  Philadelphia  became  the 
seat  of  government,  and  had  taken  for  himself  another,  a little 
above  it,  known  to  later  times  as  the  Schuylkill  Bank,  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets.  Though  it  had  not 
a very  striking  appearance,  it  was  a fine  substantial  structure,  from 
its  angular  position  commanding  abundance  of  light,  and  relieved 
by  extensive  edifices  in  the  rear.  It  was  not  comparable  with  Mrs. 
Bingham’s,  in  elegance  of  building,  grounds,  or  furniture,  but  its 
domestic  appointments  and  the  course  of  life  withiu  it  were  proba- 
bly not  much  less  expensive.  The  convenient  and  democratic  sys- 
tem of  overcrowded  balls  and  receptions  by  which  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen are  now  entertained  by  hundreds  at  a time,  and  a thousand 
imperfect  social  obligations  discharged  as  imperfectly  about  once 
in  a year,  was  unknown  to  the  gentry  of  our  early  metropolis. 
The  “ visiting  list  ” enrolled  a very  much  more  extensive  and  a 

* Among  the  public  honors  given  by  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  to  Lafayette  on  this  visit  to 
America,  was  a public  ball.  Mrs.  Morris  was  one  of  the  few  still  surviving  who  belonged  to 
the  colonial  and  revolutionary  era.  To  grace  and  dignify  the  festival  a committee  of  the  citizens 
specially  invited  her  presence,  but  she  declined  the  civility  on  account  of  her  advanced  years  and 
long  formed  habits  of  retirement.  Eepeated  solicitations,  however,  induced  a compliance,  and  she 
went  in  the  costume  of  her  day.  Being  seated  on  a bench  of  eminence  beside  the  Marquis,  her 
venerable  figure  and  ancient  style  of  dress  made  a feature  of  this  brilliant  spectacle. 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


311 


very  different  class  of  names  from  the  list  for  entertainments. 
Neighborhood  — a near  acquaintance  from  any  cause  — a special 
or  even  a general  service  of  some  casual  kind  — with  many  other 
causes  easily  conceived,  might  constitute  a good  title  to  a place  in 
the  former,  but  to  be  included  in  the  latter  was  a different  thing. 
The  social  rights  and  dispositions  of  the  entertainer  were  justly 
considered  not  to  be  the  only  ones  concerned.  It  was  rightly  sup- 
posed that  those  who  were  entertained  had  some  rights  also ; not 
legal  ones,  indeed,  but  very  delicate  and  important  ones  notwith- 
standing ; social  enjoyment  had  not  become  a “ business  matter;” 
and  to  invite  gentlemen  and  ladies  only  to  meet  all  the  clients  of 
the  host,  if  a lawyer,  or  all  his  patients,  if  a physician,  or  to  give 
something  like  gentility  to  a grande  democrate-socialiste  melee , 
where,  once  a year,  people  of  every  sort,  without  regard  to  class, 
connection,  or  character  — to  education,  breeding,  or  social  suita- 
bility— are  herded  promiscuously,  merely  to  gratify  a love  the 
hostess  may  happen  to  have  for  common  notoriety,  would  have 
been  considered  high  treason  against  society,  and  destructive  alike 
of  its  interests,  aims,  and  enjoyments.  Dinner  company,  well 
chosen,  frequent,  and  elegant,  was  the  style  of  the  time.  It  was 
in  this  style  that  the  home  of  Mrs.  Morris  was  distinguished.  Be- 
sides its  essential  household  of  table-servants,  coachmen,  footmen, 
&c.,  her  establishment  had  its  housekeeper,  butler,  (a  fine  old 
Frenchman  named  Constance,)  its  confectioner,  and  all  the  reti- 
nue of  a mansion  in  which  dinner  company  is  frequently  and  ele- 
gantly entertained.  Unlike  most  of  the  menial  servants  of  that 
day,  in  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Morris’s  were  all  white,  and  they  all 
wore  the  Morris  livery.  As  a fitting  appendage  to  this  town 
residence,  Mr.  Morris  had  his  well  known  country  seat,  The 
Hills,  which  I describe  more  particularly  in  another  part  of  this 
chapter. 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Though  not  a man  distinguished  by  birth,  nor,  I believe,  of 
early  liberal  education,  Mr.  Morris  possessed  considerable  taste 
for  the  arts,  and  exerted  himself  to  introduce  them  into  our  infant 
republic.  It  was  by  his  encouragement  that  Jardella,  an  Italian 
sculptor  very  well  known  in  Philadelphia,  established  himself  in 
America ; and  under  his  orders  were  made,  among  other  things 
by  that  artist,  those  two  fine  mezzo  relievos  which  so  long  adorned 
the  window  arches  of  the  Chestnut  street  theatre  — one  represent- 
ing Comedy  and  Tragedy,  and  the  other  the  Genius  of  Music. 
Some  of  the  most  beautiful  Gobelin  tapestry  ever  brought  from 
France  was  imported  by  him  during  the  revolution  of  1792.  He 
was,  however,  unable  to  appropriate  it,  as  he  intended,  to  the  de- 
coration of  the  great  mansion  he  commenced  on  Chestnut  street,  and 
after  his  death  it  passed,  about  the  year  1834,  into  the  possession 
of  Mrs.  Richard  Alsop,  in  whose  tasteful  and  elegant  parlors  it  was 
afterwards  exceedingly  admired.  The  reverses  of  fortune  which 
overtook  Mr.  Morris’s  large  speculations  in  landed  estates  reached 
their  crisis,  I think,  in  the  winter  of  1796,  and  after  that  date  his 
style  of  social  life  of  course  was  changed.  He  retired  to  The 
Hills  in  the  beginning  of  1797,  and  at  this  delightful  place  re- 
mained with  his  family  in  entire  seclusion.  His  house  in  the  city 
passed  to  the  occupancy  of  Mr.  Penn. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Morris  was  west  of  the  presidential  man- 
sion, on  the  corner  of  Market  and  Sixth  streets.  East  of  it,  near 
the  corner  of  Fifth  street,  resided  General  Walter  Stewart,  with 
whom  and  Mrs.  Stewart  the  family  of  Washington  were  very  in- 
timate. General  Stewart  came  to  this  country  from  Ireland,  and 
at  an  early  period  entered  the  revolutionary  army,  in  which,  on 
several  occasions,  he  very  honorably  distinguished  himself.  By  a 
resolution  of  Congress  medals  were  ordered  to  be  struck  for  Gene- 
ral Wayne,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fleury,  and  Major  Walter  Stewart, 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


313 


for  their  gallant  conduct  in  the  storming  of  Stony  Point.  As  a 
colonel,  Stewart  is  a prominent  figure  in  Trumbull’s  picture  of  the 
surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  He  was  high  in  Washing- 
ton’s esteem  and  confidence,  or  his  wife,  splendid  as  was  her  beauty, 
brilliant  as  was  her  conversation,  aijd  amiable  and  fascinating  as 
were  her  manners,  would  scarcely  have  become  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  ladies  of  the  republican  court,  from  which  her  connec- 
tions were  so  widely  separated.  She  was  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Blair  McClenachan,  a retired  naturalized  Irish  merchant,  of  great 
wealth,  who  once  owned  quite  a celebrated  place  at  Germantown, 
whence,  as  his  temper  prompted,  or  his  friends,  Jefferson,  Rush, 
Dallas,  and  other  democrats,  deemed  it  expedient,  he  would  ride 
into  town  to  assist  in  burning  Jay’s  treaty,  in  giving  a triumphal 
reception  to  Genet,  or  any  other  act  of  hostility  to  the  Washing- 
ton party.  General  Stewart  however  remained  faithful  in  feeling 
and  conduct  to  the  chief,  and  was  always  proud  of  the  considera- 
tion in  which  he  was  held  by  him. 

“Walter  Stewart,”  writes  Mr.  Charles  Jared  Ingersoll,  “was 
one  of  the  handsomest  men  of  his  day  ; ” and  Deborah  McClena- 
chan was  already  famous  for  those  personal  attractions  which  after- 
wards commanded  so  much  homage,  at  home  and  abroad,  when 
they  were  married,  by  Dr.  White,  on  the  eleventh  of  April,  1781. 
Washington  was  unable  to  be  present,  but  he  sent  from  his  head- 
quarters, at  New  Windsor,  a graceful  letter  of  congratulation  on 
the  occasion,  and  the  next  year  became  godfather  to  them  son. 
When  they  went  to  Europe,  in  1785,  he  gave  General  Stewart  let- 
ters of  introduction,  and  concluded  the  communication  in  which 
they  were  enclosed,  by  saying,  “Mrs.  Washington  joins  me  in 
wishing  you  a good  and  prosperous  voyage,  and  in  compliments  to 
Mrs.  Stewart.  Tell  her  if  she  do  n’t  think  of  me  often,  I shall  not 

easily  forgive  her,  and  will  scold  at,  and  beat  her  — soundly  too  — 

40 


314 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


at  piquet,  tlie  next  time  I see  her.”  This  is  one  of  the  few  exam- 
ples we  have  of  the  hero’s  playful  humor  ; it  is  as  neatly  delivered 
as  his  celebrated  letter  inviting  Mrs.  Cochran  to  a camp  dinner. 
He  presents  his  friend  as  “a  gallant  and  deserving  officer  who 
served  through  all  the  war  with  distinguished  reputation ; ” and 
Robert  Morris  writes  of  him  at  the  same  time,  that  “his  private 
character  is  as  amiable  as  his  public  one  has  been  glorious.” 

From  1785  to  1787  General  Stewart  and  Mrs.  Stewart  were 
in  London,  Paris,  and  the  resorts  of  fashion  in  Germany  and  It- 
aly. Returning  to  Philadelphia,  they  lived  in  a style  of  liberality 
and  elegance  suitable  to  their  large  income  and  cultivated  taste. 
Their  house,  during  Washington’s  administration,  was  much  fre- 
quented by  that  portion  of  official  and  private  society  which  was 
most  distinguished  for  its  attachment  to  his  person  and  policy. 

About  the  time  of  his  retirement  from  public  life,  the  president 
sent  portraits*  of  himself — of  a size  somewhat  larger  than  com- 
mon miniatures  — to  three  of  the  ladies  with  whom  his  intercourse 
in  Philadelphia  had  been  the  most  unreserved  and  affectionate : 
Mrs.  Bingham,  Mrs.  Robert  Morris,  and  Mrs.  Walter  Stewart.  In 
a note  accompanying  that  to  Mrs.  Stewart,  he  begs  her  to  regard 
it  “ not  so  much  for  any  merit  of  the  original  as  for  its  excellence  as 
a work  of  art ; ” and  declares  it  “ the  production  of  a young  lady.” 
The  name  of  the  fair  artist  is  not  given,  but  it  is  evident  that  he 
does  not  refer  to  Madame  de  Brehan,  whose  pictures  of  him  I have 
mentioned  elsewhere,  as  that  distinguished  personage  was  by  no 
means  young,  when  in  America,  six  or  seven  years  before. 

* These  three  portraits  are  probably  by  the  same  hand,  and  are  to  be  reckoned  among  the  origi- 
nals known  to  exist  of  Washington.  One  of  Stuart’s  finest  pictures  of  the  president  was  painted  for 
Mrs.  Bingham.  The  one  now  sent  to  her  was  accompanied  by  the  following  note  : 

“ In  presenting  the  inclosed,  with  compliments,  to  Mrs.  Bingham,  the  President  fulfils  a promise. 
Not  for  the  representation,  not  for  the  value,  but  as  the  production  of  a fair  hand,  the  offering  is 
made,  and  the  acceptance  of  it  requested. 

“ Wednesday,  16th  March.” 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


31£ 


Yin. 

The  family  of  Chief  Justice  Chew,  being  a numerous  and  very 
amiable  one,  filled  a considerable  space  in  society.  Mr.  Chew  had 
been  attorney  general  of  the  province,  and  also  recorder  of  the 
city,  and  he  was  the  last  chief  justice  of  the  crown.  Belonging 
to  the  old  provincial  party,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  he 
would  support  the  cause  of  the  revolution,  which  deprived  him  of 
the  highest  judicial  office,  and  he  was  accordingly  arrested  as  a 
person,  if  not  positively  disaffected,  at  least  but  lukewarm  in  the 
cause  of  American  freedom,  and  sent  during  the  war  among  the 
exiles  in  Virginia.  But  his  prudence  was  so  considerable,  his  mild- 
ness of  disposition  so  pleasing,  and  his  amenity  and  courtesy  so 
universally  acceptable,  that  he  was  extremely  popular  with  all 
parties,  and  a personal  friend  and  favorite  with  Washington  him- 
self. After  the  peace  he  maintained  a dignified  social  rank,  and, 
as  president  of  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals,  was  also  a 
distinguished  public  character.  Having  been  twice  married,  in  the 
first  place  to  Miss  Galloway,  and  in  the  second  to  Miss  Oswald,  he 
had  a numerous  family  connection,  and  most  of  his  immediate 
descendants  being  daughters,  who  were  eminent  for  the  same 
beauty  which  has  graced  the  family  in  our  own  times,  (Mrs. 
Phillips,  Mrs.  Carroll,  wife  of  Charles  Carroll  the  younger,  Mrs. 
Alexander  Wilcocks,  Mrs.  John  Eagar  Howard,  Mrs.  Nicklin,  and 
others,)  his  town  house,  a fine  old  structure  in  Third  street — • 
built  by  Mr.  Charles  Willing  for  his  son-in-law,  Colonel  Byrd  of 
Westover,  and  afterwards  the  head-quarters  of  General  Washing- 
ton — not  less  than  Cliveden,  his  country  seat  at  Germantown,  now 
historic  as  “ Chew’s  House,”  were  the  scenes  of  constant  and  re- 
fined though  not  very  ostentatious  or  costly  entertainments. 


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Judge  Peters  with  his  family  must  be  prominent  in  my  records.. 
His  name  had  been  long  honorably  known  in  both  church  and 
state.  The  Reverend  Richard  Peters,  a man  of  fortune,  a scholar 
and  a divine,  was  for  many  years  the  rector  as  well  as  a liberal 
benefactor  of  Christ  church,  and  the  possessor  of  one  of  the  best 
libraries  ever  brought  to  Philadelphia.  Other  members  of  his 
family  were  connected  with  the  proprietary  offices : his  father,  I 
think,  though  perhaps  it  was  his  uncle  the  clergyman,  as  secretary 
of  the  Land  Office.  Judge  Peters  himself  is  known  traditionally 
more  by  his  jests  than  by  his  decisions,  for  though  the  latter  were 
good,  the  former  were  brilliant.*  His  domestic  attachments  are 
illustrated  by  an  anecdote  related  by  Mrs.  Adams,  in  one  of  her 
letters.  While  in  London,  in  1786,  he  dined  on  one  occasion 
at  the  ambassador’s.  When  he  entered  the  drawing-room  Mrs. 
Adams  gave  into  his  hands  several  letters  which  had  been  received 
for  him.  He  carried  them  to  the  light,  broke  their  seals,  and 

* Peters  was  in  Congress  when  Burgoyne  was  captured,  an  event  of  which  General  Gates  trans- 
mitted the  intelligence  to  that  body  by  his  aide,  Lieutenant  Wilkinson.  Wilkinson,  it  appeared, 
having  staid  a little  too  long  on  the  way,  to  pay  his  homage  to  a lady  whom  he  was  courting,  did 
not  reach  Yorktown  until  after  the  intelligence  of  the  capture  had  been  received.  Had  the  news 
been  less  agreeabl;  that  body  might  not  have  been  very  amiably  disposed  ; the  occasion,  however, 
was  bland  and  exhilarating,  and  there  was  no  disposition  to  withhold  from  the  messenger  the  ordi- 
nary tokens  of  approbation.  Mr.  Peters  took  the  initiative,  and  on  the  morning  after  Mr.  Wilkin- 
son’s arrival,  rising  in  his  place,  with  an  air  of  uncommon  dignity,  moved  very  gravely  “ that  as  a 
mark  of  its  sense  of  Mr.  Wilkinson’s  service,  there  should  be  presented  to  him  a pair  of  silver  spurs.” 
Thomas  McKean,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  a letter  to  John  Adams,  written  in  1815,  attributes  this  motion 
to  Samuel  Adams,  (Works  of  John  Adams,  x.  177,)  but,  according  to  common  tradition,  it  was  by 
Peters,  of  whom  it  was  characteristic.  The  judge  was  a great  agriculturist,  and  very  fond  of  ex- 
hibiting at  Belmont  the  fruits  of  his  skill  in  that  way.  One  summer  day  he  had  invited  his  friends 
to  partake  of  a rich  water-melon ; but,  being  very  large,  his  servant,  in  bringing  it  to  the  table, 
happened  to  tumble.  The  melon  rolled  from  the  dish,  and  falling  on  a marble  floor,  broke  to  pieces 
before  the  assembled  guests.  Looking  at  the  fragments  for  a moment,  “ Never  mind,”  said  the  host, 
nothing  disconcerted,  “ it  is  but  a squash — take  it  away.”  Advertising  his  place  for  sale,  he  mentioned 
among  its  attractions  a “ fine  stream  of  water ; ” a gentleman  who  drove  out  to  see  the  property  was 
very  well  pleased  with  it,  but  thought  there  must  be  some  mistake  about  any  such  “ fine  stream,” 
as  he  discovered  nothing  in  that  way  but  a little  rivulet  so  small  that  it  could  scarcely  be  seen 
through  the  grass.  “Well,”  asked  the  judge,  with  perfect  sangfroid,  “how  could  there  be  a finer 
stream  than  that  ? ” 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


317 


threw  them  on  the  table,  exclaiming,  “ Not  one  from  my  wife  ! I 
have  lost  two  letters  from  her.  The  devil ! I would  rather  have 
found  two  lines  from  her  than  ten  folios  from  any  one  else.” 
Washington,  who  placed  him  on  the  bench,  was  very  fond  of  his 
society,  and  frequently,  as  I have  elsewhere  mentioned,  drove  out 
to  Belmont,  his  country  house,  to  enjoy  an  unceremonious  and 
recreative  intercourse  with  him,  walking  with  him  sometimes  for 
hours  under  the  dark  grove  of  hemlocks  which  an  earlier  genera- 
tion of  the  Peters  family  had  planted  there. 

His  ancestor,  as  I have  said,  was  a rector  of  Christ  church, 
and  Mr.  Peters  was  quite  proud  of  his  orthodoxy,  though,  like 
Lord  Eldon,  he  was  rather  one  of  the  buttresses  than  the  pillars 
of  the  church  — giving  his  support  from  the  outside.  With  Mr. 
Powell,  he  was  sent  by  the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  soon  after  the  organization  of  that  body,  in 
1T81,  to  confer  with  the  English  bishops,  and  to  induce  them,  if 
they  would  do  so,  to  grant  the  episcopacy  to  the  new  states.  The 
English  bishops,  as  it  appeared,  were  very  scrupulous ; and,  afraid 
lest  the  church  in  America  might  not  be  so  well  disposed  as  the 
delegates  believed,  made  a great  many  inquiries  of  them  about 
every  point  of  discipline,  doctrine,  and  condition.  Mr.  Peters, 
who  was  probably  the  medium  of  communication,  gave  very  pleas- 
ant answers,  but  they  were  not  always  so  exact  and  full  on  points 
of  nice  divinity,  as  the  bishops  desired.  “We  found  him,”  said 
one  of  that  body,  “ a delightful  companion,  a most  well-bred  gen- 
tleman, an  accomplished  scholar,  and  extremely  well  informed  on 
every  possible  subject,  except  upon  the  one  for  which  he  came  to 
England.” 

The  family  of  Shippen  was  rich  and  eminent.  Possessed  of  no 
remarkable  spirituality,  nor,  perhaps,  as  a general  rule,  of  the 
highest  order  of  intellect,  its  members  were  yet  much  and  justly 


318 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


respected.  They  were  noticeable  for  those  qualities  which,  though 
insufficient  in  themselves  to  confer  the  best  social  distinction,  may 
be  said  to  constitute  an  excellent  element  in  the  ordinary  compo- 
sition of  good  society.  Easy,  not  apt  to  be  excited,  within  proper 
limits  fond  of  property  and  of  all  the  best  things  belonging  to 
this  world,  through  a large  connection  indulging  in  a constant 
round  of  sober  enjoyments,  bestowing  smiles  on  all  and  frowns 
on  few  or  none,  they  offended  not  at  all,  and  were  universally 
agreeable.  The  well  known  medical  professor,  Dr.  William  Ship- 
pen,  I suppose  possessed  the  most  genius.  Of  his  rank  among 
men  of  science  I have  written  elsewhere.  His  own  family  influence 
was  large,  and  his  marriage  with  Alice  Lee,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Lee,  governor  of  Virginia,  and  sister  of  Richard  Henry  and  Ar- 
thur Lee,  made  his  residence  (the  respectable  mansion  still  stand- 
ing on  the  southwest  corner  of  Prune  and  Fourth  streets,  after- 
wards distinguished  as  the  home  of  Dr.  Wistar)  a centre  and 
resort  of  most  of  the  Virginia  aristocracy  who  were  brought  to 
Philadelphia  in  consequence  of  its  becoming  the  capital.  The  an- 
cient family  reputation,  with  Dr.  Shippen’s  medical  fame,  and  the 
high  judicial  station  of  Edward  Shippen,  so  long  honorably  known 
as  the  chief  justice  of  Pennsylvania,  gave  dignity  to  all  this  cir- 
cle; and  with  the  inherited  rank  of  the  chief  justice’s  wife,  and 
the  beauty  and  charming  manners  in  early  life,  and  the  affecting 
history  at  a jater  period,  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Arnold,  and  the 
excellent  social  position  of  his  other  daughters,  Mrs.  Burd  and 
Mrs.  Lee,  were  some  of  the  causes  which  contributed  to  the  unde- 
niable elevation  of  the  Shippens  in  the  domain  of  fashion. 

In  some  paragraphs  respecting  the  clergy  I have  referred  to 
the  distinction  of  Bishop  White  in  that  profession ; but,  with  Dr. 
Blackwell  and  one  or  two  of  his  other  clerical  associates,  he  was 
also  a conspicuous  figure  in  the  higher  society  of  the  city.  His 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


319 


family  was  a good  one.  He  received  from  his  father,  Colonel 
Thomas  White,  an  English  gentleman  who,  as  surveyor  of  Har- 
ford county,  Maryland,  had  made  good  purchases  of  land,  a for- 
tune which  was  then  considered  liberal ; and  though  the  bishop 
lost  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  dollars  by  being  compelled  to 
receive  in  continental  paper  what  his  father  had  loaned  in  gold 
and  silver,  he  was  still  enabled  to  maintain  an  elegant  style  of 
living.  He  inherited  from  his  aunts  in  England  an  estate  at 
Twickenham,  not  far  from  that  of  the  poet  Pope,  with  which  he 
was  perfectly  familiar,  and  which  he  frequently  described.  His 
town  residence,  a substantial  building,  erected  by  himself,  and  oc- 
cupied by  him  till  his  death,  yet  stands  in  Walnut  street,  and  is 
familiar  to  this  generation.  His  rural  seat  called  Brookland,  a 
valuable  farm  of  forty-eight  acres,  close  to  Philadelphia,  upon  Is- 
lington lane,  was  variously  beautiful,  and  the  scene  of  such  summer 
hospitality  as  became  a bishop  and  a gentleman.  A sister  of  Mrs. 
White  had  married  Governor  Paca  of  Maryland,  and  his  own  sis- 
ter, as  I have  already  mentioned,  was  the  wife  of  Robert  Morris. 
He  was  in  other  ways  connected  with  public  characters,  and  his 
position  as  one  of  the  chaplains  of  Congress,*  not  less  than  his 
high  ecclesiastical  office,  and  his  well  known  patriotism,  secured 
for  him  a wide  recognition  as  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  time 
in  this  country. 

* I do  not  know  whether  the  following  incident  is  recorded  in  any  biography  of  Bishop  White, 
but  it  is  one  which  I have  from  good  authority.  He  was  in  Harford  county,  Maryland,  visiting  his 
relations  there,  when  he  received  intelligence  of  his  appointment  to  the  chaplaincy  of  Congress. 
His  brother-in-law,  Governor  Paca,  who  was  at  this  time  in  Congress,  in  communicating  it  to  him, 
rather  advised  him,  on  prudential  grounds,  not  to  take  it : urging  for  his  consideration  the  fact  that 
if  the  revolution  were  successful  his  generally  known  approval  of  it  would  secure  him  a sufficient 
measure  of  public  favor,  while,  if  the  British  arms  triumphed,  the  fact  that  he,  a clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  so  very  specially  bound  to  the  government,  had  joined  a revolt,  would  bring 
upon  him  a special  measure  of  severity.  But  such  considerations  never  weighed  with  Bishop  White. 
He  set  off  at  once  for  Yorktown,  and  the  first  answer  Governor  Paca  received  was  from  the  bishop 
in  person,  that  he  had  come  to  fill  his  office ! 


320 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


The  connection  of  the  Hamiltons  gave  a feature  to  the  lighter 
part  of  fashionable  society.  The  founder  of  this  family,  I believe, 
was  Andrew  Hamilton,  known,  even  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, as  the  ablest  lawyer  of  Pennsylvania.  A mystery  is  said  to 
have  clouded  his  early  history,  and  it  was  commonly  rumored  that 
his  true  name  was  not  Hamilton,  but,  if  I am  not  mistaken,  Trent. 
The  belief  was  that  he  was  sent  in  youth  to  Maryland,  to  oversee 
some  estates,  but  that  having  a strong  intellect,  and  a turn  more 
liberal,  he  studied  law.  He  came  to  Philadelphia  from  Maryland, 
and  soon  rose  to  eminence  in  a profession  which  was  concerned 
much  more  with  his  abilities  than  his  birth  or  history.  He  was  an 
associate  of  Franklin,  and  much  of  Franklin’s  way  of  thinking  in 
religion.  His  son  was  James  Hamilton,  for  some  time  a governor 
of  the  province.  He,  or  the  earliest  of  the  Hamiltons,  had  taken 
up  large  quantities  of  land  across  the  Schuylkill,  which,  on  the 
death  of  the  latter,  passed,  in  part  at  least,  to  his  nephew,  William, 
styling  himself  “ of  the  Woodlands,”  around  whom  the  younger 
members  of  the  family  were  principally  grouped.  From  his  youth, 
he  seems  to  have  possessed  a high  degree  of  taste.  On  graduating, 
in  1762,  at  the  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  he  gave  a fete  at  the 
Woodlands  to  his  college  friends,  among  whom  were  young  men 
afterwards  known  as  Judge  Yeates,  Judge  Peters,  Mr.  Dickenson 
Sergeant,  the  Reverend  Doctor  Andrews,  Bishop  White,  and 
others.  The  beautiful  edifice  for  which  his  place  has  since  been 
celebrated  was  not  then  erected,  and  his  entertainment  was  neces- 
sarily spread  in  a temporary  building  ; but  its  decorations  were  so 
elegant  and  appropriate  as  to  induce  a general  admiration  of  it. 
He  afterwards  lived  in  a manner  more  marked  perhaps  by  ostenta- 
tion than  by  dignity.  His  chariot  and  four,  with  postillion  boys, 
attracted  wonder  from  some,  and  envy  from  others,  but  not  having 
in  the  character  of  its  occupant  any  thing  remarkable,  to  give 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


321 


respectability  to  such  display,  it  caused  no  general  sentiment  of 
regard.  He  owned  the  large  tract  on  which  Hamilton  village  now 

r 

stands,  and  other  land  in  the  vicinity,  running  up  to  the  perma- 
nent bridge,  which,  on  the  advice  of  Mr.  William  Cramond,  he 
sold,  to  relieve  himself  from  some  pecuniary  inconveniences  which 
his  desire  to  retain  landed  possessions  involved  him  in.  One  of 
his  nieces  — the  daughters  of  his  brother  Andrew,  who  had  mar- 
ried a Jewess,  Miss  Franks,  as  I have  stated  elsewhere  — was  dis- 
tinguished by  uncommon  beauty  of  figure.  Having  been  admired 
by  many  of  her  own  country,  she  bestowed  her  hand,  at  last,  very 
suddenly,  upon  an  Irish  gentleman,  of  slender  parts,  and  lived 
abroad.  She  was  afterwards  separated  from  him.  Another,  also 
distinguished  for  unusual  loveliness,  married  Mr.  Lisle,  a broker, 
who  knew  very  well  the  art  of  acquiring  wealth,  but  was  thought 
by  some  persons  not  to  be  worthy  of  so  handsome  a woman.  But 
before  their  marriage,  as  well  in  virtue  of  their  expectations  as  of 
their  beauty,  the  Hamiltons  gave  brilliance  and  attraction  to  the 
evening  circle,  and  made  a decided  feature  in  the  society  merely 
fashionable. 

Major  Pierce  Butler,  a representative  from  South  Carolina  to 
the  federal  Congress,  was  deservedly  conspicuous  in  the  best 
society  of  the  city.  He  was  a widower,  but  maintained  an  estab- 
lishment suitable  for  a liberal-minded  gentleman,  both  in  South 
Carolina  and  in  his  home  in  the  metropolis.  At  his  house  were 
to  be  found  the  most  distinguished  representatives  of  the  southern 
states.  He  professed  to  be  a democrat,  but  democrats  were  seldom 
seen  in  his  parlor ; and  the  democracy  of  his  day,  especially  the 
democracy  of  his  part  of  the  country,  far  as  it  was  removed  from 
the  standards  of  federal  bearing  and  dignity,  was  not  less  re- 
moved from  the  democracy  of  later  times.  Whatever  may  have 
been  his  political  heresies,  or  his  eccentricities,  of  which  he  pos- 


322 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


sessed  many,  every  account  which  I have  heard  or  read  of  him 
has  represented  him  as  a high  bred  gentleman  and  a man  of 
honor,  and  as  such  he  was  universally  esteemed.  From  a sister  of 
his,  who  was  a charming  woman  in  her  youth,  as  well  as  from  the 
late  Mrs.  Alexander  Hamilton,  with  whom  I had  sometimes  the 
honor  of  walking  through  the  city  in  which  she  had  been  a leader 
of  the  polite  world  in  the  days  of  Washington,  and  others,  be- 
longing to  the  distinguished  society  I attempt  to  describe,  who 
survived  it  to  my  own  times,  I have  heard  many  agreeable  remi- 
niscences of  that  period,  which  enter  in  some  form  into  the  texture 
of  this  work. 

Mr.  Elias  Boudinot  and  Mrs.  Boudinot,  in  a sphere  not  less 
aristocratic,  but  somewhat  different  and  more  grave,  were  also  emi- 
nent persons.  Mr.  Boudinot  was  originally  from  New  Jersey,  the 
federal  politics  of  which  state  he  controlled  almost  entirely  so  long 
as  federal  politics  prevailed  at  all.  He  had  the  distinction  of  pos- 
sessing a large  fortune,  and  those  liberal  social  dispositions  which 
displayed  it  with  advantage.  His  wife,  before  marriage  Miss  Stock- 
ton,  was  a sister  of  Richard  Stockton,  the  well-known  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  his  own  sister  was  the  wife  of 
that  gentleman.  Mr.  Boudinot  had  been  in  the  continental  con- 
gress of  1776,  and  in  1*782  was  elected  the  president  of  that  body. 
During  the  war  he  had  been  commissary-general  of  prisoners,  and 
to  him  Washington  had  now  intrusted  the  responsible  office  of 
giving  action  and  success  to  our  federal  mint.  He  had  one  child, 
a daughter,  who  had  been  married  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
and  excellent  men  of  his  time,  Mr.  William  Bradford,  the  attorney- 
general,  and  friend  of  Washington : a man  looked  to  by  every  one 
for  what  he  then  was,  and  still  more  for  the  higher  distinctions 
and  honors  which  seemed  certainly  awaiting  him.  In  this  dig- 
nified circle  happiness  and  virtue  were  ever  united,  and  during 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


323 


tlie  residence  of  Washington  in  Philadelphia  no  social  connection 
presented  greater  charms.  As  at  Dr.  Shippen’s  was  the  centre  of 
the  Virginia  gentry,  and  at  Major  Butler’s  that  of  the  Carolinas, 
so  at  Mr.  Boudinot’s  noble  mansion,  yet  standing  at  the  south-west 
corner  of  Arch  and  Ninth  streets,  were  constantly  assembled,  as 
his  friends  or  guests,  the  most  eminent  characters  of  his  own  state, 
his  own  connections  also — the  Stocktons,  Daytons,  Wallaces,  Og- 
dens— perfectly  known  in  the  society  of  the  metropolis,  though 
residing  generally  on  their  domains  in  New  Jersey. 

And  with  these  families  and  persons,  connected  more  or  less 
intimately  with  the  fashionable  world,  Philadelphia  had  at  the 
same  time  her  David  Rittenhouse,  John  Bartram,  Dominie  Proud, 
young  Brockden  Brown,  and  others  variously  famous. 

IX. 

The  addiction  of  American  women  to  extravagance  in  dress  has 
always  been  remarked  by  foreigners  and  by  our  travelled  country- 
men. The  Count  de  Rochambeau  observed  at  the  close  of  the  war 
that  the  wives  of  our  merchants  and  bankers  were  “ clad  to  the 
tip  of  the  French  fashions,  of  which  they  were  remarkably  fond.” 
Brissot  de  Warville  deplores  it  as  a great  misfortune  that  in  repub- 
lics women  should  sacrifice  so  much  time  to  “ trifles,”  and  that  re- 
publican men  should  hold  this  habit  in  some  estimation.  He  tells 
us  the  women  of  Philadelphia  wore  hats  and  caps  almost  as  varied 
as  those  of  Paris,  and  bestowed  immense  expenses  in  dressing  their 
heads,  displaying  “ pretensions  too  affected  to  be  pleasing.” 

The  Quakers  in  Philadelphia  were  relatively  much  more  numer- 
ous in  1791  than  now,  and  they  lived  very  much  retired  among 
themselves;  but  the  Duke  la  Rochefoucauld  Liancourt  perceives 
that  “ ribbons  please  young  Quakeresses  as  well  as  others,  and  are 
the  great  enemies  of  the  sect.” 


324 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Of  these  Quaker  women  Brissot . says,  “They  are  what  they 
should  he,  faithful  to  their  husbands,  tender  to  their  children,  vigi- 
lant and  economical  in  their  households,  and  simple  in  their  orna- 
ments ; their  characteristic  is  that,  neglectful  of  the  exterior,  they 
reserve  all  their  accomplishments  for  the  mind.  Let  us  say  it  — 
let  us  not  cease  to  repeat  it  — it  is  where  such  manners  obtain  that 
we  are  to  look  for  happy  families  and  public  virtues.  But  we,  mis- 
erable wretches ! gangrened  with  our  own  civilization  and  polite- 
ness, we  have  abjured  these  manners,  and  who  among  us  is  happy  ? ” 
Nevertheless,  the  Frenchman  confesses  that  the  young  Quakeresses 
curl  their  locks  with  great  care  and  anxiety,  which  costs  them  as 
much  time  as  the  most  exquisite  toilette,  and  wear  hats  covered 
with  silk  and  satin*  Such  observations  give  him  pain.  “ These 
youthful  creatures,  whom  nature  has  so  well  endowed,  whose  charms 

* During  the  period  in  which  Philadelphia  was  the  seat  of  government,  on  the  arrival  of  the 
spring  and  fall  ships  from  England,  the  pavements,  all  along  Front  street,  from  Arch  street  to 
Walnut  street,  were  lumbered  and  scattered,  before  the  doors  of  importers,  with  boxes  and  bales 
of  English  drygoods — the  clerks,  apprentices  and  subordinates  of  the  merchants  as  busy  as  bees 
in  their  several  vocations,  some  with  sharp  knives  and  claw-hammers,  ripping  and  breaking  open 
the  packages  and  cases,  and  others  within  doors  exhibiting  the  goods  as  salesmen  — altogether 
displaying  a pleasant  bustle  of  rivalship  and  competition.  The  retailers,  principally  women, 
were  hovering  around,  mingling  with  the  men,  and  viewing  with  admiration  the  rich  varieties 
of  foreign  chintzes,  muslins,  and  calicoes,  of  the  latest  fashions.  All  sums  of  money  were  com 
puted  in  pounds,  shillings,  pence,  and  farthings  — dollars  and  cents  being  unused  denominations 
except  in  the  reports  of  Mr.  Hamilton.  “The  first  brilliant  retail  fancy  drygoods  shop  was 
opened  about  this  time,”  says  a writer  in  Hazard’s  Register,  “ by  a Mr.  Whitesides,  as  it  was 
said,  from  London,  in  the  true  Bond  street  style,  at  number  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  Market 
street;  and  the  uncommon  size  of  the  panes  of  glass,  the  fine  mull-mull  and  jaconet  muslins, 
the  chintzes  and  linens,  suspended  in  whole  pieces  and  entwined  together  in  puffs  and  festoons, 
and  the  shopmen  behind  the  counter,  bowing  and  smiling,  created  for  a time  some  sensation.” 
Other  shops,  however,  appear  to  have  been  more  successful,  after  the  novelty  of  the  show-windows 
of  Mr.  Whitesides  was  forgotten.  Two  of  these  were  by  a Mr.  Guest  and  a Mrs.  Holland.  Mr. 
Guest,  of  number  thirty  South  Second  street,  with  a pleasant  and  smiling  countenance,  was  busy 
in  the  mornings  among  the  importers,  picking  up  the  choicest  fabrics  and  the  best  bargains,  while 
the  sales  at  home  were  conducted  by  his  two  sons,  and  two  daughters  — handsome  young  women 
of  the  class  of  “ gay  Quakers.”  Mrs.  Holland,  at  number  two  North  Front  street,  was  a person 
of  extraordinary  dimensions,  and  seemed  quite  too  unwieldy  for  her  vocation  as  principal  sales- 
woman, but  she  was  popular  for  patient  devotion  to  the  varied  wants  and  whims  of  her  custom- 
ers, and  for  the  most  unfailing  and  fascinating  smiles  upon  purchasers  of  even  the  smallest  amount. 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


325 


have  so  little  need  of  tlie  aid  of  art,  are  remarkable  for  their  choice 
of  the  finest  muslins  and  silks ; oriental  luxury  itself  would  not  dis- 
dain the  linen  they  wear,  and  elegant  fans  play  between  their  fin- 
gers.” He  urges  the  maxim  of  Penn,  that  “ modesty  and  mildness 
are  the  finest  ornaments  of  the  soul,”  and  warns  them  that  their 
choice  of  delicate  linens  and  rich  silks  is  regarded  by  others  as 
hypocritical  luxury,  ill  disguised.  Among  Quakers  of  the  braver 
sex  he  discovers  that  there  are  some  who  dress  more  like  men  of 
the  world,  who  wear  powder,  silver  buckles,  and  ruffles ; they  are 
called  “ wet  Quakers ; ” the  others  regard  them  as  “ a kind  of 
schismatics,  or  feeble  men;”  they  admit  them,  indeed,  to  their 
places  of  worship,  on  Sundays,  but  never  to  their  monthly  or  quar- 
terly meetings. 

X. 

The  President  and  Mrs.  Washington  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
from  Mount  Yernon  on  Saturday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  November, 
and  found  that  most  of  the  public  characters  were  already  assem 
bled,  and  that  the  city  was  filled  with  strangers  anticipating  a gay 
and  brilliant  season  in  society. 

The  rules  for  receiving  visitors  and  entertaining  company  con- 
tinued to  be  very  nearly  the  same  as  in  New  York.  Respectable 
citizens  and  strangers,  properly  introduced,  were  seen  by  the  Presi- 
dent every  other  Tuesday,  between  the  hours  of  three  and  four  hi 
the  afternoon.  The  receptions  were  in  the  dining-room,  on  the  first 
floor,  in  the  back  part  of  the  house.  At  three  o’clock,  all  the  chairs 
having  been  removed,  the  door  was  opened,  and  the  President,  usual- 
ly surrounded  by  members  of  his  cabinet  or  other  distinguished 
men,  was  seen  by  the  approaching  visitor  standing  before  the  fire- 
place, his  hair  powdered  and  gathered  behind  in  a silk  bag,  coat  and 
breeches  of  plain  black  velvet,  white  or  pearl-colored  vest,  yellow 


326 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


gloves,  a cocked  hat  in  Ms  hand,  silver  knee  and  shoe-buckles,  and 
a long  sword,  with  a finely  wrought  and  glittering  steel  hilt,  the  coat 
worn  over  it,  and  its  scabbard  of  polished  white  leather.  On  these 
occasions  he  never  shook  hands,  even  with  his  most  intimate  friends. 
The  name  of  every  one  was  distinctly  announced,  and  he  rarely 
forgot  that  of  a person  who  had  been  once  introduced  to  him.  The 
visitor  was  received  with  a dignified  bow,  and  passed  on  to  another 
part  of  the  room.  At  a quarter  past  three  the  door  was  closed,  the 
gentlemen  present  moved  into  a circle,  and  he  proceeded,  beginning 
at  his  right  hand,  to  exchange  a few  words  with  each.  When  the 
circuit  was  completed  he  resumed  his  first  position,  and  the  visitors 
approached  him  in  succession,  bowed,  and  retired. 

At  the  levees  of  Mrs.  WasMngton  he  did  not  consider  any  visits 
made  to  himself,  and  he  appeared  as  a private  gentleman,  with  nei- 
ther hat  nor  sword,  conversing  without  restraint,  generally  with 
women,  who  rarely  had  other  opportunities  of  meeting  him. 

The  first  levee  in  PhiladelpMa  was  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  the 
twenty-fifth  of  December.  Mrs.  Adams  went,  attended  by  her  son, 
Mr.  Charles  Adams,  and  she  mentions  “ the  dazzling  Mb's.  Bingham 
and  her  beautiful  sisters,  the  Misses  Allen,  the  Misses  Chew,  and, 
in  short,  a constellation  of  beauties.”  The  eldest  of  these  Allens  be- 
came Mrs.  Greenleaf,  and  according  to  tradition  was  one  of  the  most 
splendid  beauties  this  country  ever  produced.  Mrs.  Theodore  Sedg- 
wick, in  whom  were  combined  the  finest  graces  of  the  New  Eng- 
land matron,  was  conspicuous  for  a charming  face,  and  an  air  and 
manner  of  singular  refinement  and  elegance ; the  magnificent  Miss 
Wolcott,  from  Connecticut,  was  the  boast  of  gentlemen  from  the 
eastern  states,  who  would  not  admit  that  even  Mrs.  Bingham  was 
her  equal ; and  Mrs.  Knox,  of  course,  was  observed  of  all  observ- 
ers. Miss  Sally  McKean  wrote  to  a friend  in  New  York,  “You 
never  could  have  had  such  a drawing-room ; it  was  brilliant  beyoud 


LIBRARY 
Of  THE 

OMVEKSlilf  Of  ILLINOIS 


SOCIETY  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


327 


any  tiling  you  can  imagine  ; and  though  there  was  a great  deal  of 
extravagance,  there  was  so  much  of  Philadelphia  taste  in  every 
thing  that  it  must  have  been  confessed  the  most  delightful  occasion 
of  the  kind  ever  known  in  this  country.” 

XI. 

The  winter  presented  a continual  succession  of  halls,  dinner- 
parties, and  other  scenes  of  gayety  and  dissipation.  The  most  sump- 
tuous dinners  were  at  Mr.  Bingham’s  and  Mr.  Morris’s.  Mr.  Morris 
lived  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets,  near  the  President, 
and  his  house  was  the  abode  of  a noble  hospitality.  The  great 
financier  who  had  so  admirably  managed  the  pecuniary  affairs  of 
the  nation,  had  not  yet  displayed  that  incapacity  or  thoughtlessness 
in  the  administration  of  his  own,  which  was  soon  to  render  him  a 
bankrupt  and  an  exile  from  those  scenes  of  luxurious  enjoyment 
which  were  dignified  by  his  simple  and  gracious  manners,  unfailing 
generosity,  and  large  intelligence.  “ I should  spend  a very  dissi- 
pated winter,”  writes  Mrs.  Adams,  “ if  I were  to  accept  one  half 
the  invitations  I receive,  particularly  to  the  routs  or  tea-and-cards.” 
Jeremiah  Smith  refers  to  the  prevailing  passion  for  gambling : he 
did  not  think  it  had  any  tendency  to  add  to  the  property  or  to  in- 
crease the  happiness  of  its  votaries,  and  therefore  was  of  the  com- 
paratively small  number  who  would  not  play;  but  he  says  it  was 
no  uncommon  thing  in  this  winter  to  hear  that  a man  or  a woman 
had  lost  three  or  four  hundred  dollars  at  a sitting.  The  dancing 
at  the  assemblies,  Mrs.  Adams  informs  us,  was  very  good,  and  the 
company  of  the  best  kind ; the  room  however  was  despicable,  and 
the  etiquette  — “ it  was  not  to  be  found.”  She  remembers  that  “ it 
was  not  so  in  New  York,”  but  is  consoled  by  the  fact  that  Phila- 
delphia society  is  generally  agreeable ; “ friendliness,”  she  says,  “ is 
kept  up  among  the  principal  families,  who  appear  to  live  in  great 


328 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


liarmony,  and  we  meet  at  all  places  nearly  the  same  company.”  A 
friend  of  Humphreys,  who  was  now  at  Lisbon,  writes  to  him,  “ You 
have  never  seen  any  thing  like  the  frenzy  which  has  seized  upon 
the  inhabitants  here  ; they  have  been  half  mad  ever  since  this  city 
became  the  seat  of  government ; and  there  is  no  limit  to  their  pro- 
digality, and,  Ellsworth  might  say,  profligacy.  The  probability  is 
that  some  families  will  find  they  cannot  support  their  dinners,  sup- 
pers, and  losses  at  loo,  a great  while ; but  generally  I believe  the 
sharp  citizens  manage  to  make  the  temporary  residents  pay  the  bills, 
one  way  or  another.  There  have  been  a good  many  delightful  par- 
ties, and  I have  been  at  Chew’s,  McKean’s,  Clymer’s,  Dallas’s,  Bing- 
ham’s, and  a dozen  other  houses  lately.  Among  your  more  particu- 
lar friends  there  is  more  quiet  and  comfort,  and  it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  most  truly  respectable  people  are  least  heard  of.” 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR. 


i. 

The  winter  of  1790  and  1791  was  one  of  continual  and  various 
excitement  at  the  seat  of  government.  In  the  Congress  it  was 
chiefly  remarkable  for  a succession  of  stormy  debates  on  the  great 
financial  schemes  of  Hamilton,  resulting  in  the  establishment  of  a 
national  bank,  and  a tax  on  ardent  spirits.  It  required  no  prophet  to 
foretell  the  irritation  which  would  be  produced  by  the  last  measure ; 
it  was  an  attack  on  the  special  interests  of  the  enemies  of  the  ad- 
ministration, those  interests  which  we  may  well  believe  were  most 
dear  to  them,  and  its  consequences  are  a familiar  part  of  history. 

“ My  health  is  now  quite  restored,”  the  President  wrote  to  La- 
fayette on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  “ and  I flatter  myself  with  the 
hope  of  a long  exemption  from  sickness  ; on  Monday  next  I shall 
enter  on  your  friendly  prescription  of  exercise,  intending  at  that 
time  to  begin  a long  journey  to  the  southward.”  To  this  tour  he 
had  been  invited  by  many  of  the  leading  characters  of  the  south- 
ern states,  who  promised  him  everywhere  as  sincerely  cordial  and 
enthusiastic  greetings  as  two  years  before  had  marked  his  triumphal 
progress  through  New  England. 

The  carriage  in  which  he  travelled  was  the  one  in  which  he  usu- 
ally appeared  on  public  occasions  in  the  city ; it  was  built  by  a Phil 
adelphia  mechanic,  and  is  described  as  a “ most  satisfactory  exhibi 
42 


330 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


tion  of  the  progress  of  American  manufactures.”  * It  was  drawn 
by  six  horses,  which  had  been  carefully  selected  for  their  handsome 
appearance  and  probable  capacities  for  endurance.  He  started 
from  his  residence,  in  Market  street,  at  twelve  o’clock,  with  Mr. 
Jefferson  and  General  Knox,  who  escorted  him  into  Delaware,  and 
Major  Jackson,  one  of  his  private  secretaries,  who  was  his  compan- 
ion until  he  returned  to  the  metropolis. 

At  Annapolis,  where  he  arrived  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  March,  he  remained  two  days.  An  accident  on  the  Severn 
caused  a great  deal  of  anxiety  for  a few  hours.  The  vessel  which 
contained  the  President  and  his  suite  entered  the  river  about  ten 
o’clock  on  a dark,  rainy  and  windy  night,  and  soon  after  struck  on 
a bar,  where  she  remained  until  daylight.  Frequent  signals  of  dis- 
tress were  made,  but  it  was  found  impossible  to  go  to  her  relief. 
On  arriving  in  town  in  the  morning  he  was  met  by  the  entire  popu- 
lation, and  before  his  departure  was  entertained  at  public  dinners 
and  a ball.  The  Governor  of  Maryland,  on  the  twenty-seventh, 
accompanied  him  on  his  way  until  he  reached  Georgetown. 

He  remained  a week  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  then  proceeded  on 
his  journey.  At  Fredericksburg  he  dined  with  his  old  friends  and 

* This  carriage  has  been  carefully  preserved  by  an  eminent  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  in  a house 
built  expressly  for  its  reception,  in  which  it  has  remained  half  a century.  Mr.  Watson  is  mis- 
taken in  supposing  it  tvas  removed  to  New  Orleans,  as  mentioned  in  his  “Annals,”  i.  581,  and 
also  in  the  suggestion  that  it  was  a present  from  Louis  XVL,  or  that  it  had  been  the  property  of 
Governor  Penn.  The  “state  coach”  used  in  New  York  was  built  in  that  city.  In  this  he  made 
his  journey  through  New  England.  The  only  other  carriage  for  six  horses  which  Washington 
owned  while  President  is  the  one  above  referred  to,  built  by  a Mr.  Clark  of  Philadelphia. 

Keferring  to  the  simplicity  of  the  President’s  equipage  and  the  modest  style  in  which  he  • 
travelled,  a contemporary  journal  quoted  the  following  passage  from  M.  Fleehier’s  oration  on  the 
great  Marshal  de  Turenne : “ He  strives  to  conceal  himself,  but  his  reputation  discovers  him  He 
marches  without  a train  of  attendants,  whilst  every  man,  in  his  own  mind,  places  him  upon  a 
triumphal  car.  As  he  passes  by,  the  enemies  he  has  conquered  are  reckoned,  and  not  the  ser- 
vants who  follow  him.  Alone  as  he  is,  we  imagine  him  surrounded  in  all  places  with  his  virtues 
and  victories.  There  is  something  extremely  noble  in  this  elegant  simplicity ; and  the  less  haughty 
he  is,  the  more  venerable  he  becomes.” 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR. 


331 


neighbors,  whom  he  was  always  happy  to  meet,  and  with  whom, 
Chancellor  Wythe  informs  us,  he  delighted  to  recall  the  scenes  of 
his  youth  and  earlier  manhood,  which  he  contemplated,  with  their 
associations,  with  feelings  of  the  tenderest  interest.  He  arrived  in 
Richmond  at  two  o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  the  eleventh 
of  April,  and  an  immense  assemblage  of  citizens  greeted  him  with 
acclamations  as  he  passed  along  the  streets,  and  the  military  signal 
ized  his  presence  with  salutes  of  artillery.  In  the  evening  the  city 
was  brilliantly  illuminated,  and  the  two  days  during  which  he  re- 
mained there  were  surrendered  by  all  classes  to  a proud  enjoyment ; 
for  the  Virginians  regarded  Washington  as  their  especial  glory,  and 
exulted  in  all  his  triumphs  as  sharers  of  his  greatness.  At  Peters- 
burgh,  and  at  Halifax,  Newbern,*  Wilmington,  and  other  places 
in  North  Carolina,  he  was  received  with  every  possible  demonstra- 
tion of  attachment  by  the  authorities  and  the  people.  The  military 
companies  of  Wilmington  met  him  ten  miles  from  the  city,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  went  out  between  five  and  six 
miles  to  join  the  procession  which  welcomed  him  to  that  ancient 
town.  The  next  day  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  a public  dinner, 
and  in  the  evening  attended  a ball  at  which  there  was  an  unprece- 
dented display  of  the  fashion  and  beauty  of  the  state.  On  his  de- 
parture he  was  rowed  across  the  Cape  Fear  river  in  an  elegantly 
decorated  barge  by  six  masters  of  vessels. 

* At  Newbern  the  President  attended  a public  dinner  and  a ball  at  the  old  palace  of  Gover- 
nor Tryon,  which  was  probably  at  that  time  the  most  splendid  residence  in  America.  An  en- 
graving of  it  appears  in  Mr.  Lossing’s  “ Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,”  from  original  drawings 
made  by  Mr.  John  Hawks,  the  architect,  in  IV  6 V,  and  preserved  by  his  grandson,  the  Rev- 
erend Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of  New  York.  On  a tablet  in  the  vestibule  were  some 
lines  in  Latin,  by  Sir  William  Draper,  which  the  late  Governor  Martin  of  North  Carolina  trans- 
lated, not  very  gracefully,  as  follows: 

“ In  the  reign  of  a monarch  who  goodness  disclosed, 

A free,  happy  people,  to  dread  tyrants  opposed, 

Have  to  virtue  and  merit  erected  this  dome. 

May  the  owner  and  household  make  this  their  loved  home, 

Where  religion,  the  laws,  and  the  arts,  shall  invite 
Future  ages  to  live  in  sweet  peace  and  delight.” 


332 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


II. 

Charleston  at  this  period  was  the  seat  of  a refined  and  gener 
ous  hospitality,  and  in  social  elegance  was  far  in  advance  of  any  other 
city  in  the  southern  states.*  Always  conservative,  her  inhabitants 
were  slow  to  admit  any  innovations  in  manners,  and  the  tasteful  and 
rich  costumes  of  the  middle  of  the  century  were  still  worn  there- 
fore by  the  more  respectable  classes,  though  numerous  modifications 
had  been  generally  adopted  in  Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
Milliners  and  tailors  corresponded  directly  with  the  inventors  of 
dresses  in  London  and  Paris,  and  had  little  regard  for  the  taste  of 
our  republican  court.  Women  preferred  the  French  fashions,  and 
often  improved  upon  them,  but  Dr.  Ramsay  assures  us  that  they 
rarely  had  resolution  enough  to  follow  their  own  correct  ideas  in 
originating  styles  entirely  new.  Gentlemen  were  partial  to  blue, 
the  product  of  their  staple  indigo,  and  most  of  them  had  at  all 
times  at  least  one  coat  of  that  color.  Pantaloons  had  been  intro- 
duced and  were  now  worn  by  some  of  the  younger  men,  but  in  a 
few  years  they  were  entirely  laid  aside,  and  breeches  again  adopted, 
notwithstanding  the  superior  fitness  of  the  more  modern  garment 
for  so  warm  a climate.  A keen  sensibility  on  points  of  personal 
honor  gave  rise  to  frequent  duels,  so  that  more  took  place  in  South 
Carolina  than  in  all  the  nine  states  north  of  Maryland ; but  it  was 
regarded  as  a consequence  of  this  practice  that  there  was  a perva- 
ding propriety  and  courtesy  in  society.  Drunkenness,  we  have  the 

* Innkeepers,  we  learn  from  Dr.  Ramsay,  complained  that  this  virtue  was  carried  to  such  an 
extent  that  their  business  was  scarcely  worth  following.  The  doors  of  the  citizens  throughout 
the  state  were  opened  to  all  decent  travellers,  and  shut  against  none.  The  abundance  of  provi- 
sions on  plantations  rendered  the  exercise  of  hospitality  convenient,  and  the  avidity  of  country 
people  for  hearing  news  made  them  rather  seek  than  shun  the  calls  of  strangers.  The  state 
might  be  travelled  over  with  very  little  expense  by  persons  furnished  with  letters  of  introduc- 
tion, or  even  without  them,  by  calling  at  the  plantations  of  private  gentlemen  on  or  near  the 
roads. 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR. 


333 


authority  of  Dr.  Ramsay  for  believing,  “ might  be  called  an  endemic 
vice  ” there,  and  he  finds  for  it  an  apology  in  the  qualities  of  the 
atmosphere.  Periodical  races,  hunting  and  fishing,  and  luxurious 
and  protracted  dinners,  occupied  the  attention  of  old  and  young, 
while  in  dancing  and  music  there  was  a more  common  proficiency 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  country.  The  Duke  de  la  Rochefou- 
cauld Liancourt  observed  that  from  the  hour  of  four  in  the  after- 
noon the  people  of  Charleston  rarely  thought  of  any  thing  but  plea- 
sure and  amusement ; they  had  two  gaming  houses,  and  both  were 
constantly  full ; many  of  the  inhabitants,  having  been  abroad,  had 
acquired  a greater  knowledge  of  European  manners  and  a stronger 
partiality  to  them  than  were  found  in  the  north,  and  foreign  modes 
of  life  were  consequently  more  prevalent.  The  women  were  more 
lively  than  he  had  seen  elsewhere,  and  took  a greater  share  in  the 
commerce  of  society,  but  without  any  lessening  of  modesty  or  delicate 
propriety  in  their  behavior.  They  were  interesting  and  agreeable, 
but  perhaps  not  quite  so  handsome  as  those  of  Philadelphia. 

III. 

The  President  arrived  in  Charleston  on  Monday  the  second  day 
of  May.  A twelve-oared  barge,  manned  by  thirteen  captains  of 
American  ships,  conveyed  him,  with  several  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ed gentlemen  of  the  state,  from  Hadrill’s  Point,  and  accompanying 
barges,  containing  a band,  with  instruments,  and  singers,  greeted  him 
with  triumphal  airs  and  songs,  while  a large  procession  of  gaily 
caparisoned  boats  gave  to  the  river  a brilliant  and  beautiful  appear- 
ance. On  landing  he  was  received  by  Governor  Pinckney,  the 
intendant  and  wardens  of  the  city,  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati, 
and  the  military  of  the  district,  all  of  whom  attended  him  in  pro- 
cession, amid  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  firing  of  cannon,  and  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  people,  first  to  the  Exchange,  where  he  was  wel- 


834 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


corned  in  a formal  address,  and  tlien  to  the  house  prepared  for  his 
reception. 

He  remained  in  Charleston  a week,  and  every  day  received 
evidences  of  the  affectionate  admiration  and  respect  of  the  people. 
The  merchants  were  foremost  in  rendering  him  honor.  In  their 
address  to  him  they  said,  “ Were  it  possible  for  your  fellow  citizens 
to  omit  doing  justice  to  your  merits,  the  testimony  of  other  nations 
would  evince  their  neglect  or  ingratitude  — the  whole  world  con- 
curring in  the  same  opinion  of  you Sensible  of  the  numerous 

blessings  our  country  has  derived  from  your  wise  and  judicious  ad- 
ministration, we  feel  animated  with  the  most  lively  sentiments  of 
gratitude  towards  you ; suffer  us,  then,  to  represent  to  you  the  feel- 
ings with  which  we  are  impressed,  by  assuring  you  that  we  yield 
to  none  in  sincere  respect  and  attachment  to  your  person ; and  we 
earnestly  implore  the  Almighty  Father  of  the  universe  long  to  pre- 
serve a life  so  valuable  and  dear  to  the  people  over  whom  you  pre- 
side.” He  answered,  “ Your  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  South 
Carolina,  enhanced  by  the  affectionate  manner  in  which  they  are 
offered,  are  received  with  the  most  grateful  sensibility.  Flattered 
by  the  favorable  sentiments  you  express  of  my  endeavors  to  be  use- 
ful to  our  country,  I desire  to  assure  you  of  my  constant  solicitude 
for  its  welfare,  and  of  my  particular  satisfaction  in  observing  the 
advantages  which  accrue  to  the  highly  deserving  citizens  of  this  state 
from  the  operations  of  the  general  government.  I am  not  less  in- 
debted to  you  for  your  expressions  of  personal  attachment  and  re- 
spect: they  receive  my  best  thanks,  and  induce  my  most  sincere 
wishes  for  your  professional  prosperity,  and  your  individual  hap- 
piness.” 

On  Wednesday  evening  he  attended  the  corporation  ball,  at 
which  there  were  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  women,  many 
of  whom  wore  sashes  and  ribbons  emblazoned  with  his  portrait  and 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR. 


335 


with  appropriate  inscriptions.  He  entered  the  room  with  Governor 
Pinckney,  Senators  Izard  and  Butler,  and  several  other  public  char- 
acters, and  after  being  seated  a few  moments  arose,  and  passing  round 
the  rapidly  formed  circle,  saluted  every  lady,  “ which  gave  particu- 
lar satisfaction,  as  every  one  was  anxious  to  have  a good  view  of 
him.”  The  City  Hall  was  elegantly  decorated  for  the  occasion. 
The  pillars  were  entwined  with  laurels  and  flowers,  and  the  walls 
festooned  with  banners  and  adorned  with  pictures* 

On  Thursday  he  dined  with  a large  party  at  Governor  Pinck- 
ney’s, and  in  the  evening  attended  a concert  by  the  Saint  Cecilia 

* While  these  sheets  are  passing  through  the  press  I am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  E.  A. 
Duyckinck  for  a volume  of  very  interesting  “ Reminiscences  of  Charleston,”  just  published  by 
the  venerable  and  accomplished  Mr.  Charles  Fraser,  of  that  city,  who  at  the  time  of  Washington’s 
visit  was  a pupil  in  the  Charleston  College.  I have  had  the  happiness  of  some  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Fraser,  and  with  the  dignified  circle  comprising  the  club  before  which  his  de- 
lightful memoir  was  read,  previous  to  its  appearance  in  print.  Charleston  may  well  be  proud 
of  such  a “ clarum  et  venerabile  nomen,”  and  may  see  preserved  in  this  distinguished  artist, 
scholar,  and  gentleman,  a type  of  her  best  society  in  her  palmiest  days.  His  present  perform- 
ance is  very  similar  in  its  character  to  President  Duer’s  “ Discourse  on  New  York  at  the  Close 
of  the  Last  Century.”  Describing  the  events  mentioned  in  the  text  he  says : “ General  Wash- 
ington’s visit  to  Charleston  was  made  on  the  twenty-first  of  May,  1791,  and  amidst  every  recol- 
lection that  I have  of  that  imposing  occasion,  the  most  prominent  is  of  the  person  of  the  great 
man,  as  he  stood  upon  the  steps  of  the  Exchange,  uncovered,  amidst  the  enthusiastic  acclamations 
of  the  citizens.  I remember  that  the  place  prepared  for  his  accommodation  was  that  large  three- 
story  double  house  in  Church  street,  a few  doors  north  of  Tradd  street,  then  owned  by  Judge 
Heyward,  and  said  to  be  superbly  furnished  for  the  occasion.  lie  remained  here  but  one  week, 
but  it  was  a week  of  continual  rejoicing  and  festivity.  Every  attention  that  hospitality,  public 
and  private,  could  devise,  was  shown  him,  and  it  must  have  been  very  gratifying  to  the  citizens 
of  Charleston  to  receive  from  General  Washington  himself,  on  his  departure,  the  warm  acknowl- 
edgments which  those  attentions  had  won  from  his  heart.  One  of  the  civilities  which  he  received 
was  a splendid  concert  and  ball,  given  at  the  hall  of  the  Exchange.  On  that  occasion  the  ladies 
wore  fillets,  or  bandeaus,  of  white  ribbon,  interwoven  in  their  head-dress,  with  the  head  of 
Washington  painted  on  them,  and  the  words  ‘ Long  live  the  President,’  in  gilt  letters.  Every 
band  that  could  hold  a pencil,  professional  or  amateur,  was  enlisted  to  furnish  them.  But  that 
which  proved  the  most  lasting  memorial  of  his  visit  was  the  whole  length  portrait,  for  which  the 
city  council  requested  him  to  sit  to  Colonel  Trumbull,  and  which  now  adorns  the  City  Hall.”  Mr. 
Fraser,  it  will  be  perceived,  makes  a slight  mistake  in  the  date,  and  another  in  referring  to  the 
concert  and  the  ball  as  having  occurred  the  same  evening.  Contemporary  letters  and  journals 
authorize  different  statements. 

Some  very  interesting  and  carefully  studied  views  of  society  in  Charleston  at  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  may  be  found  in  Dr.  Simms’s  historical  romance  of  Katherine  Walton. 


336 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Society,  at  which  there  was  even  a greater  display  of  beauty  ana 
elegance  than  at  the  corporation  ball. 

On  Friday  he  dined  with  Major  Pierce  Butler,  and  on  Saturday 
was  entertained  with  great  splendor  by  the  merchants  at  the  Ex- 
change. Among  the  invited  guests  were  the  Governor,  the  sena- 
tors and  representatives  of  the  state  in  Congress,  the  intendant  and 
wardens  of  the  city,  resident  officers  of  the  national  and  state  gov- 
ernments, members  of  the  South  Carolina  legislature  for  the  Charles- 
ton district,  and  the  clergy  of  every  denomination.  The  toast  of 
the  President  was,  “ The  commercial  interests  of  Charleston,”  and 
after  he  retired  the  company  drunk  with  great  enthusiasm,  “ The 
President  of  the  United  States  : long  may  he  live  to  enjoy  the  praises 
of  a grateful  people  ! ” The  President  left  the  Exchange  at  eight 
o’clock,  and  proceeded  to  the  City  Hall,  to  view  the  exhibition  of 
fire- works.  He  afterward  rode  with  Mr.  Izard  to  the  houses  of  sev- 
eral gentlemen,  before  returning  to  his  lodgings. 

On  Sunday  he  attended  divine  service,  in  the  morning  and  after- 
noon, and  dined  in  a private  manner  with  General  Moultrie. 

IY. 

The  President  left  Charleston  at  six  o’clock  .on  Monday  morning, 
the  ninth  of  May,  escorted  to  Ashley  Ferry  by  a large  cavalcade, 
in  which  were  the  Governor,  senators,  members  of  the  Cincinnati, 
and  many  other  distinguished  citizens.  At  Perrysburg  he  was  met 
the  next  day  by  a committee  from  Savannah,  and,  with  General 
Wayne,  Major  Butler,  Mi*.  Baillie,  and  Major  Jackson,  was  conduct- 
ed on  board  a richly  decorated  boat  in  which  the  party  were  rowed 
down  the  river,  by  nine  sea  captains,  dressed  in  light  blue  silk  jack- 
ets, black  satin  breeches,  white  silk  stockings,  and  round  hats  with 
black  ribbons,  inscribed  with  “ Long  live  the  President,”  in  golden 
letters.  Ten  miles  from  the  city  they  were  met  by  other  barges, 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR 


337 


from  one  of  which  a company  of  gentlemen  sung  the  popular  song, 
“ He  comes,  the  hero  comes  ! ” As  they  drew  near  the  harbor  every 
vessel  and  all  the  shore  were  discovered  to  be  thronged  with  peo- 
ple. When  the  President  stepped  on  the  landing  he  was  received 
by  General  James  Jackson,  who  introduced  him  to  the  Mayor  and 
aldermen,  and  he  was  soon  after  conducted  in  the  midst  of  a proces- 
sion through  crowds  of  spectators  to  the  house  prepared  for  his  ac- 
commodation in  St.  James’s  Square.  The  same  evening  he  dined 
with  the  city  authorities,  and  a large  number  of  other  gentlemen,  at 
Brown’s  Coffee  House.  Cannons  were  fired  during  the  day,  and  at 
night  the  streets  and  the  shipping  were  brilliantly  illuminated.  On 
Friday  he  dined  with  the  Cincinnati  of  the  state  of  Georgia,  and 
attended  a ball.  On  Saturday,  accompanied  by  General  McIntosh, 
who  had  been  second  in  command,  under  General  Lincoln,  in  storm- 
ing them,  he  examined  the  remaining  traces  of  the  lines  constructed 
by  the  British  for  the  defence  of  Savannah  in  1779,  and  dined  with 
two  hundred  citizens  and  strangers  under  a beautiful  arbor,  sup- 
ported by  numerous  columns  and  ornamented  with  laurels  and  bay 
leaves,  erected  on  an  elevation  which  commanded  a view  of  the 
town  and  the  harbor. 

It  has  frequently  been  said  of  Washington  that  “no  man  in  the 
army  had  a better  eye  for  a horse,”  and  many  of  his  letters  show 
that  he  was  by  no  means  indifferent  as  to  the  qualities  or  treatment 
of  his  stud,  during  the  war  or  afterwards.  A tour  of  nineteen  hun- 
dred miles  with  the  same  animals  was  a severe  test  of  then1  capaci- 
ties, and  before  reaching  Charleston  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Lear  that 
though,  all  things  considered,  they  had  got  on  very  well,  yet  his 
horses  were  decidedly  worsted,  and  if  brought  back  would  “ not 
cut  capers  as  they  did  on  setting  out.”  On  the  thirteenth  of  May 
he  says  in  a letter  to  the  same  correspondent,  “ I shall  leave  this 
place  to-morrow;  my  horses,  especially  the  two  I bought  just  before 
43 


338 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


I left  Philadelphia,  and  my  old  white  horse,  are  much  worn  down 
and  I have  yet  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  miles  of 
heavy  sand  to  pass  before- 1 fairly  get  into  the  upper  and  firmer 
roads.” 

On  the  way  to  Augusta  he  stopped  to  dine  with  the  widow  of 
his  old  friend  and  companion  in  arms,  General  Greene,  at  her  seat 
called  Mulberry  Grove.  On  Wednesday,  the  eighteenth,  Governor 
Telfair  and  the  principal  officers  of  the  state  eft  the  capital,  with  a 
numerous  train  of  citizens,  and  proceeded  five  miles  toward  Savan- 
nah to  meet  him,  and  he  was  conducted  to  his  lodgings  accompa- 
nied by  thousands  of  people,  who  filled  the  air  with  joyous  accla- 
mations. That  day  he  dined  with  a large  party  at  the  Grove,  the 
Governor’s  private  residence,  near  Augusta,  where  Mrs.  Telfair  as- 
sembled the  ladies  of  the  town  to  meet  him  at  a ball  in  the  evening ; 
on  Thursday  he  received  and  answered  an  address  from  the  people, 
attended  a public  dinner,  and  was  present  at  another  ball ; on  Fri- 
day he  visited  the  academy  and  dined  again  with  the  Governor,  and 
on  Saturday  started  on  his  return,  Augusta  being  the  farthest  point 
of  his  journey. 

Coming  again  into  South  Carolina  he  was  conducted  to  Co- 
lumbia by  General  Winn,  Colonel  Wade  Hampton,  and  a large 
number  of  other  citizens,  and  the  next  day  dined  with  more  than 
two  hundred  of  the  principal  men  and  women  of  the  town  and 
neighboring  country  at  the  state  house,  and  iu  the  evening  attend- 
ed a ball. 

On  Wednesday,  the  twenty -fifth,  he  dined  at  Camden,  and  on 
the  following  morning  visited  the  grave  of  the  Baron  de  Kalb,  the 
places  where  the  British  redoubts  had  been  erected,  Hobkirk  Hill, 
where  General  Greene  was  attacked  by  Lord  Rawdon,  and  the 
plains  where  General  Gates  was  engaged  by  Lord  Cornwallis  in 
1 7 80.  Passing  through  Charlotte,  Salisbury,  Salem,  Guilford,  and 


THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR. 


339 


other  towns,  in  all  of  which  the  love  and  reverence  of  the  people 
were  exhibited  in  every  variety  of  manner  which  taste  and  inge- 
nuity could  suggest,  he  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  twelfth 
of  June. 

He  remained  at  his  seat  between  three  and  four  weeks,  during 
which  he  was  occupied  with  his  private  affairs,  and,  with  Major 
L’Enfant  and  others,  with  the  location  of  the  new  seat  of  government, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  On  Thursday,  the  last  day  of  June, 
he  started  for  Philadelphia,  by  way  of  Frederick,  York,  and  Lan- 
caster, and  arrived  at  the  Presidential  residence  about  noon  on  the 
sixth  of  July,  having  been  absent  nearly  three  months,  and  during 
that  period  performed  a journey  of  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  miles. 

Y. 

This  tour  was  upon  the  whole  very  satisfactory  to  the  President. 
In  letters  written  soon  after  his  return  he  says  it  was  accomplished 
'l  without  meeting  with  any  interruption,  by  sickness,  bad  weather, 
or  any  untoward  accident.  Indeed,  so  highly  favored  were  we, 
that  we  arrived  at  each  place  where  I proposed  to  make  my 
halt,  on  the  very  day  I fixed  upon  before  we  set  out.  I am  much 
pleased  that  I undertook  this  excursion,  as  it  has  enabled  me  to  see 
with  my  own  eyes  the  situation  of  the  country  through  which  we 
travelled,  and  to  learn  more  accurately  the  disposition  of  the  peo- 
ple than  I could  from  any  information I have  been  highly  gra- 

tified in  observing  the  good  dispositions  of  the  people.  Industry 
and  economy  are  becoming  fashionable  in  those  parts,  which  were 
formerly  noted  for  the  opposite  qualities,  and  the  labors  of  man  are 
assisted  by  the  blessings  of  Providence.  The  attachment  of  all 
classes  of  citizens  to  the  general  government  seems  to  be  a pleasing 
presage  of  their  future  happiness  and  respectability.” 


340 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


VI. 

While  the  President  was  absent  in  the  south,  Mr.  Jefferson  and 
Mr.  Madison  were  making  a tour  in  the  north.  Proceeding  to  New 
York,  and  up  the  Hudson  to  Albany,  they  visited  the  principal 
scenes  of  Burgoyne’s  misfortunes,  — the  fields  of  Stillwater,  Sara- 
toga and  Bennington,  — and  forts  William  Henry,  George,  Ticonde- 
roga,  Crown  Point,  and  other  places  memorable  in  our  revolution- 
ary history.  Mr.  Jefferson  amused  himself  with  his  rod  and  gun, 
and  indulged  those  tastes  for  natural  history  which,  if  the  condition 
of  the  country  had  not  made  him  a politician,  would  probably  have 
been  his  main  distinction. 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


i. 

As  tlie  period  approached  when  electors  of  President  and  Vice 
President  were  again  to  be  appointed  in  the  several  states,  Wash- 
ington perceived  with  the  deepest  regret  that  it  would  be  necessary 
for  him  to  allow  his  name  to  be  used  for  a second  term  of  four 
years.  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  and  Edmund  Randolph,  each  address- 
ed him  letters  entreating  a continuance  of  his  administration  of 
affairs.  The  sincere  and  earnest  appeal  of  Hamilton  was  unanswer- 
able. This  illustrious  person,  who  for  the  greatness  of  his  abilities 
and  the  importance  of  his  public  services  has  the  highest  place  in 
our  history,  next  to  his  chief  and  friend,  wrote  to  him,  “ The  im- 
pression is  uniform  that  your  declining  would  be  deplorable  as  the 
greatest  evil  that  could  befall  the  country  at  the  present  juncture, 
and  as  critically  hazardous  to  your  own  reputation — that  your  con- 
tinuance will  be  justified,  in  the  mind  of  every  friend  to  his  country, 
by  the  evident  necessity  for  it.  It  is  clear,  says  every  one  with 
whom  I have  conversed,  that  the  affairs  of  the  national  government 
are  not  yet  firmly  established ; that  its  enemies,  generally  speaking, 
are  as  inveterate  as  ever ; that  their  enmity  has  been  sharpened  by 
its  success,  and  by  all  the  resentments  which  flow  from  disappointed 
predictions  and  mortified  vanity ; that  a general  and  strenuous  effort 
is  making,  in  every  state,  to  place  the  administration  of  it  in  the 


342 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


hands  of  its  enemies,  as  if  they  were  its  safest  guardians ; that  the 
period  of  the  next  House  of  Representatives  is  likely  to  prove  the 
crisis  of  its  permanent  character;  that  if  you  continue  in  office, 
nothing  materially  mischievous  is  to  he  apprehended,  while  if  you 
quit,  much  is  to  he  dreaded ; that  the  same  motives  which  induced 
you  to  accept  originally  ought  to  decide  you  to  continue  till  matters 
have  assumed  a more  determined  aspect ; that  it  would  have  heen 
better,  as  it  regards  your  own  character,  if  you  had  never  con- 
sented to  come  forward,  than  now  to  leave  the  business  unfinished 
and  in  danger  of  being  undone ; that  in  the  event  of  storms  arising, 
there  would  be  an  imputation  either  of  want  of  foresight  or  want 
of  firmness ; and,  in  fine,  that  on  public  and  personal  accounts,  on 
patriotic  and  prudential  considerations,  the  clear  path  to  be  pursued 
by  you  will  be,  again  to  obey  the  voice  of  your  country,  which  it 
is  not  doubted  will  be  as  earnest  and  as  unanimous  as  ever.  On  this 
last  point,  I have  some  suspicion  that  it  will  be  insinuated  to  you, 
and  perhaps  (God  forgive  me,  if  I judge  hardly,)  with  design  to 
place  before  you  a motive  for  declining,  that  there  is  danger  of  a 
division  among  the  electors,  and  of  less  unanimity  in  their  suffrages 
than  heretofore.  While  your  first  election  was  depending,  I had 
no  doubt  that  there  would  be  characters  among  the  electors,  who, 
if  they  durst  follow  them  inclinations,  would  vote  against  you, 
but  that  in  all  probability  they  would  be  restrained  by  an  appre- 
hension of  public  resentment ; that  nevertheless  it  was  possible  a 
few  straggling  votes  might  be  found  in  opposition,  from  some  head- 
strong and  fanatical  individuals ; that  a circumstance  of  this  kind 
would  be  in  fact,  and  ought  to  be  estimated  by  you,  as  of  no  impor- 
tance, since  there  would  be  sufficient  unanimity  to  witness  the  gen- 
eral confidence  and  attachment  towards  you.  My  dew  of  the  fu- 
ture accords  exactly  with  what  was  my  view  of  the  past.  I believe 
the  same  motives  will  operate  to  produce  the  same  result.  The 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


343 


dread  of  public  indignation  will  be  likely  to  restrain  the  indisposed 
few.  If  they  can  calculate  at  all,  they  will  naturally  reflect  that 
they  could  not  give  a severer  blow  to  their  cause  than  by  giving  a 
proof  of  hostility  to  you.  But  if  a solitary  vote  or  two  should  ap- 
pear wanting  to  perfect  unanimity,  of  what  moment  can  it  be  ? 
Will  not  the  fewness  of  the  exceptions  be  a confirmation  of  the  de- 
votion of  the  community  to  a character  which  has  so  generally 
united  its  suffrages,  after  an  administration  of  four  years,  at  the  head 
of  a new  government,  opposed  in  its  first  establishment  by  a large 
proportion  of  its  citizens,  and  obliged  to  run  counter  to  many  pre- 
judices in  devising  the  arduous  arrangements  requisite  to  public 
credit  and  public  order  ? Will  not  those  who  may  be  the  authors 
of  any  such  exceptions,  manifest  more  their  own  perverseness  and 
malevolence  than  any  diminution  of  the  affection  and  confidence  of 
the  nation  ? I am  persuaded  that  both  these  questions  ought  to  be 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  looked 
for,  on  the  score  of  diversity  of  sentiment,  which  ought  to  weigh 
for  a moment.  I trust,  sir,  and  I pray  God,  that  you  will  determine 
to  make  a further  sacrifice  of  your  tranquillity  and  happiness  to  the 
public  good.” 

Washington’s  re-election  was  unanimous,  and  on  the  fourth  of 
March,  1793,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  in  the  hall  of  the  senate,  in 
the  presence  of  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  various  public  officers, 
foreign  ministers,  and  such  other  persons  as  could  be  accommodated. 
In  his  speech  to  Congress  he  expressed  the  pleasing  emotion  with 
which  he  received  this  renewed  testimony  of  the  approbation  of  the 
people.  While  however  it  awakened  his  gratitude  for  all  those  in- 
stances of  affectionate  partiality  with  which  he  had  been  honored 
by  his  country,  it  could  not  prevent  an  earnest  wish  for  that  retire- 
ment from  which  no  private  consideration  could  ever  have  torn 
him ; “ but,”  he  continued,  “ influenced  by  the  belief  that  my  con- 


344 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


duct  would  be  estimated  according  to  its  real  motives,  and  that  the 
people  would  support  exertions  having  nothing  personal  for  their 
objects,  I have  obeyed  the  suffrage  which  commanded  me  to  resume 
the  executive  power,  and  I humbly  implore  that  Being  on  whose  will 
the  fate  of  nations  depends,  to  crown  with  success  our  mutual  en- 
deavors for  the  general  happiness.” 

II. 

Philip  Freneau  had  been  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Madison 
while  they  were  classmates  in  the  college  of  Princeton.  We  do  not 
know  at  what  time  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  but 
it  was  probably  during  the  summer  after  the  organization  of  the 
government,  and  he  appears  from  the  beginning  to  have  concurred 
in  his  political  ideas.  Freneau  was  editor  of  the  Daily  Advertiser, 
published  in  New  York,  when,  on  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1791, 
he  was  appointed  translator  of  the  French  language  for  the  state 
department,  and  he  soon  after  removed  to  Philadelphia.  The  place 
is  said  to  have  been  a sinecure,  as  other  clerks  in  the  office  were 
familiar  with  the  French  language,  which  was  also  spoken  and  writ- 
ten with  fluent  elegance  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  But  Freneau  made 
himself  useful  to  the  secretary,  if  not  to  the  government,  by  estab- 
lishing in  the  following  October  the  National  Gazette,  a journal  in 
which  were  given  the  first  examples  of  that  partisan  abuse  which 
has  ever  since  been  the  shame  of  American  politics.  In  it  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson was  continually  referred  to  with  expressions  of  fulsome  adu- 
lation, and  the  public  and  private  characters  of  Washington,  Ham- 
ilton, Knox,  Adams,  and  their  associates,  were  vilified  with  unfalter- 
ing industry  and  malignity.  The  late  Reverend  Doctor  Timothy 
Dwight  wrote  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  on  this  subject,  soon  after  Wash- 
ington’s second  inauguration,  “ The  late  impertinent  attacks  on  the 
chief  magistrate  are  viewed  with  a general  and  marked  indignation. 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


345 


Freneau,  your  printer,  linguist,  and  so  forth,  is  regarded  here  as  a 
mere  incendiary,  or  rather  as  a despicable  tool  of  bigger  incendia- 
ries, and  his  paper  as  a public  nuisance.  Happily  all  the  writers 
of  this  side,  whose  productions  I have  seen,  take  effectual  means  to 
disappoint  themselves,  for  the  violence  of  their  prejudices,  the  weak- 
ness of  their  arguments,  and  the  indecency  of  them  sentiments,  alike 
counteract  the  mischievousness  of  their  designs.”  That  the  National 
Gazette  was  entirely  under  Mr.  Jefferson’s  control  appears  never  to 
have  been  doubted.  In  his  old  age  Freneau  marked  a copy  of  it  with 
the  names  of  the  writers  of  the  most  noticeable  articles,  alleging  that 
he  himself  had  never  assailed  in  any  manner  the  spotless  fame  of 
the  Father  of  his  Country.  To  Dr.  Francis,  who  became  his  physi- 
cian, he  said  it  was  among  his  greatest  griefs  that  he  had  seemed 
to  be  an  enemy  of  Washington,  but  that  Mr.  Jefferson  had  writ- 
ten or  dictated  whatever  was  reproachful  or  calumnious  of  that 
exalted  character  in  the  Gazette.  The  pretences  for  the  most  vio- 
lent attacks  on  the  President  were  his  reserved  manners,  which 
were  said  to  proceed  from  an  affectation  of  royalty  (he  had  not  yet 
learned  to  make  “bows”  in  a manner  satisfactory  to  the  demo- 
crats), and  his  failure  to  interest  himself  in  support  of  some  de- 
mand of  the  army. 

III. 

The  French  revolution  was  the  most  gigantic  and  appalling 
illustration  in  history  of  the  natural  depravity  of  the  human  race. 
It  was  a legitimate  and  inevitable  result  of  that  sham  philosophy 
which  a profligate  people  were  glad  to  accept  in  place  of  the  stern 
morality  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  was  brought  about  by  the 
combined  activity  and  determined  will  of  many  of  the  master  in- 
telligences of  that  age,  made  skeptical  by  the  corruptions  of  the 
church,  and  infidel  by  their  own  defiant  pride.  Harlequin  atheists, 
44 


34G  THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 

assuming  the  title  of  Christian  teachers,  and  half  educated  and  fee- 
ble minded  writers  of  literature,  sensible  of  their  incapacity  to 
acquire  distinction  in  the  competitions  of  excellence,  are  offering 
among  us,  as  novelties,  those  sometime  obsolete  mockeries  that  kin- 
dled into  a flame  of  passion  the  volatile  and  depraved  nation  which 
surpassed  all  others,  first  in  disobedience  and  next  in  contempt  of 
the  divine  law.  Forgetful  of  the  terribly  literal  fulfilment  which 
France  presented  of  the  prophecy  that  “ the  nations  which  forget 
God  shall  be  turned  into  hell,”  there  are  still  found  miserable  crea- 
tures willing  enough  to  brave  all  penalties  for  the  base  satisfaction 
of  a transient  notoriety.  In  the  days  of  Washington  this  class  was 
comparatively  much  more  numerous,  and  more  dignified  in  talents 
and  position. 

The  French  monarchy  had  been  abolished ; whatever  there  was 
of  private  worth  and  public  respectability  in  Paris  had  followed 
the  king  to  the  guillotine  ; and  it  had  been  decreed  by  the  conven- 
tion that  there  is  no  God.  The  interest  excited  in  America  by  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution  became  enthusiasm  when  our  an- 
cient ally  assumed  the  name  and  form  of  a republic.  A people 
less  honorable  and  sagacious  might  well  have  been  carried  away  by 
their  grateful  affections  and  political  sympathies,  and  in  the  tumult 
of  conflicting  opinion  and  storm  of  aggressive  action,  only  the  un- 
erring judgment  and  indomitable  will  of  Washington,  his  defiance 
of  foreign  and  domestic  enemies,  his  immovable  disregard  of  public 
clamor  and  private  treachery,  a sense  and  temper  and  justice  which 
seemed  above  the  capacity  of  human  nature,  preserved  our  country 
from  anarchy  and  from  becoming  the  fear  instead  of  the  hope  of 
the  world.  Less  easily  appreciable  by  the  common  mind  than  his 
military  conduct,  the  course  which  he  pursued  during  this  agitation 
displays  his  loftiest  heroism  and  constitutes  his  best  claim  to  the 
reverence  of  posterity. 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


347 

“ I persuade  myself,  ” lie  wrote  to  Patrick  Henry,  “ it  lias  not  es- 
caped your  observation  that  a crisis  is  approaching  which  must,  if 
it  cannot  be  arrested,  soon  decide  whether  order  and  good  govern- 
ment shall  be  preserved,  or  anarchy  and  confusion  ensue.  I most 
religiously  aver  that  I have  no  wish  incompatible  with  the  dignity, 
happiness,  and  true  interest  of  the  people  of  this  country.  My 
ardent  desire  is,  and  my  aim  has  been,  as  far  as  depended  upon  the 
executive  department,  to  comply  strictly  with  all  our  engagements, 
foreign  and  domestic,  but  to  keep  the  United  States  free  from  po- 
litical connections  with  every  other  country,  to  see  them  indepen- 
dent of  all,  and  under  the  influence  of  none.  In  a word,  I want 
an  American  character,  that  the  powers  of  Europe  may  be  con- 
vinced we  act  for  ourselves,  and  not  for  others.  This,  in  my  judg- 
ment, is  the  only  way  to  be  respected  abroad,  and  happy  at  home.” 

But  a large  proportion  of  the  people,  incapable  of  understand- 
ing how  little  the  revolution  in  France  resembled  in  principles  our 
own  war  for  independence,  and  never  pausing  to  consider  whether 
the  inhabitants  of  that  country  were  fit  for  self-government,  did 
not  doubt  the  ultimate  success  of  French  republicanism,  and  were 
easily  led  to  regard  all  doubts  in  others  as  treason  to  the  cause  it- 
self, and  to  stigmatize  Washington,  Hamilton,  Adams,  and  all  who 
sympathized  with  them,  as  “ anglomen  ” and  “ monarchists.”  The 
history  of  politics  affords  no  parallel  of  the  impudent  attempt  to 
persuade  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  that  a conspiracy  had 
been  organized  among  them  for  the  establishment  of  a kingly  gov- 
ernment. There  was  not  the  shadow  of  a shade  of  any  suggestion 
of  such  a conspiracy  in  all  the  conduct  and  conversation  of  the 
parties  alleged  to  be  the  conspirators,  and  no  man  of  common  sense 
now  believes  that  their  slanderers  were  ever  actuated  for  a moment 
by  any  sincere  suspicions  or  apprehensions  on  the  subject. 

With  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war  by  France  against 


348 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Great  Britain  and  Holland  arrived  M.  Genet,  the  first  minister  of 
the  French  republic.  He  landed  at  Charleston,  his  journey  thence 
to  Philadelphia  was  a continual  triumph,  and  his  reception  in  that 
city  such  as  might  have  gratified  a conquering  hero.  Instead  of 
receiving  him  with  customary  honors,  it  was  resolved  a fortnight 
before  his  arrival  that  the  republicans  should  meet  him  at  a dis- 
tance from  the  town  and  greet  him  with  cheers.  Citizen  Peter  S. 
Duponceau,  secretary  of  a secret  society  of  Frenchmen,  which  met 
at  Barney  McShane’s,  sign  of  the  bunch  of  grapes,  number  twenty- 
three  North  Third  street,  was  particularly  active  in  efforts  to  insure 
a demonstration  that  should  strike  with  terror  the  “ cowardly  con- 
servatives, anglomen,  and  monarchists,”  led  by  the  President.  Citi- 
zen Philip  Freneau,  translating  clerk  in  the  department  of  state,  and 
editor  of  the  National  Gazette,  restrung  his  “Tyrtsean  lyre”  to 
celebrate  the  glories  of  the  Parisian  regicides,  and  at  his  office,  two 
hundred  and  nine  Market  street,  received  subscriptions  for  the 
“ French  Patriotic  Society.”  On  the  second  day  of  May  the  French 
frigate  1’ Ambuscade  came  up  the  river,  saluting  with  fifteen  guns  a 
vast  assemblage  on  the  Market  street  wharf,  and  was  answered  with 
gun  for  gun,  amid  deafening  huzzas.  A cap  of  liberty  appeared 
at  her  head,  foremast,  and  stern ; her  quarter  galleries  were  deco- 
rated with  gilt  anchors  bearing  the  bonnet  rouge ; from  the  top  of 
her  foremast  floated,  “ Enemies  of  equality,  reform  or  tremble ; ” 
from  her  mainmast,  “ Freemen,  we  are  your  friends  and  brethren ; ” 
and  from  the  mizzenmast,  “We  are  armed  for  the  defence  of  the 
rights  of  man.”  L’ Ambuscade  was  a fit  precursor  of  the  ambas- 
sador. 

At  length,  soon  after  twelve  o’clock,  on  the  sixteenth  of  May, 
three  discharges  of  artillery  from  this  ship  announced  the  approach 
of  Genet,  and  a great  concourse  of  people  immediately  started  for 
Gray’s  Ferry,  where  he  was  waiting  for  them.  As  he  drew  near, 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


349 


tlie  bells  of  Christ  church  were  rung,  though  it  could  not  have 
been  with  Bishop  White’s  consent.  An  address,  prepared  by  citi- 
zens Dallas,  Bittenhouse,  Duponceau,  and  others,  was  read  amid 
the  acclamations  of  thousands.  The  minister  was  equally  delighted 
and  astonished  at  so  fraternal  a welcome ; and  when  he  read  an  ap- 
proving history  of  all  these  proceedings  in  a journal  edited  by  a 
confidential  clerk  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  it  was  but  natural  that 
he  anticipated  only  a slight  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment to  the  so  evident  wishes  of  the  people.* 

On  the  same  day,  however,  an  address  was  presented  to  the 
President,  signed  by  three  hundred  of  the  principal  merchants  and 
other  men  of  substance  and  activity,  residing  in  the  city,  declaring 
that  nothing  was  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  but  a continuance  of  peace,  that  the  highest  sense 
was  entertained  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  which  dictated  his 
recent  proclamation  of  neutrality,  and  that  the  signers  would  not 

* In  what  degree  Mr.  Jefferson  was  responsible  for  the  gross  abuse  of  Washington  in  Freneau’s 
National  Gazette,  and  for  the  yulgar  and  insolent  hostility  of  that  journal  to  the  policy  and 
measures  of  Washington’s  administration,  we  are  sufficiently  informed  by  himself.  Freneau’s 
paper  continually  denied  to  Washington  both  capacity  and  integrity,  and  three  copies  of  every 
number  were  regularly  sent  to  the  Chief,  who  could  not  forbear  speaking  to  Mr.  Jefferson  on  this 
abusive  conduct  of  his  clerk,  and  requesting  him,  as  a member  of  his  cabinet,  to  administer  to 
Freneau  some  rebuke.  Mr.  Jefferson  tells  us  in  his  “Anas”  what  course  he  chose  to  pursue.  At  a 
cabinet  council,  he  says,  Washington  remarked  that  “ That  rascal,  Freneau,  sent  him  three  copies 
of  his  papers,  every  day,  as  if  he  thought  he  (Washington)  would  become  the  distributor  of 
them ; that  he  could  see  in  this  nothing  but  an  impudent  design  to  insult  him : he  ended  in  a 
high  tone.”  Again,  speaking  of  the  President,  Mr.  Jefferson  says,  “ He  adverted  to  a piece  in 
Freneau’s  paper  of  yesterday ; he  said  he  despised  all  their  attacks  on  him  personally,  but  that 
there  had  never  been  an  act  of  the  government,  not  meaning  in  the  executive  line  only,  but  in 
any  line,  which  that  paper  had  not  abused.  He  was  evidently  sore  and  warm,  and  I took  his 
intention  to  be,  that  I should  interpose  in  some  way  with  Freneau,  perhaps  withdraw  his  ap- 
pointment of  translating  clerk  in  my  office.  But  I will  not  do  it.  His  paper  has  saved  our  con- 
stitution, which  was  galloping  fast  into  monarchy,  and  has  been  checked  by  no  one  means  so 
powerfully  as  by  that  paper.  It  is  well  and  universally  known  that  it  has  been  that  paper  which 
has  checked  the  career  of  the  monocrats,”  &c. 

Freneau  at  this  period  appears  to  have  been  living  in  very  good  condition ; and  at  his  “ seat, 
near  the  city,”  we  read  of  his  giving  entertainments  to  large  parties  of  democrats,  at  one  of 
which  were  the  officers  of  a regiment,  the  governor  of  the  state,  &c. 


350 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


only  pay  to  it  themselves  the  strictest  regard,  but  discountenance 
in  the  most  pointed  manner  any  contrary  disposition  in  others. 
Washington  replied  with  his  usual  dignity  and  judgment,  trusting 
that  the  people  would  evince  as  much  prudence  in  preserving  peace 
at  that  critical  juncture  as  they  had  previously  displayed  valor  in 
vindicating  them  just  rights. 

On  the  eighteenth  an  address  from  the  democrats  was  offered 
to  Genet,  at  the  City  Tavern,  by  Charles  Biddle  and  others,  with 
tumultuous  exhibitions  of  popular  enthusiasm ; and  on  the  twenty- 
third  a public  dinner  was  given  at  Oeller’s  hotel,  at  which  the  min- 
ister is  said  to  have  sung,  u with  great  energy  and  effect,  a song 
adapted  to  the  occasion  and  replete  with  truly  patriotic  and  repub- 
lican sentiments.”  Soon  after,  the  bonnet  rouge  was  placed  on  his 
head,  and  subsequently,  in  turn,  upon  the  head  of  each  person  at 
the  table,  every  one  offering,  while  sensible  of  its  inspiration,  a 
“patriotic  sentiment.”  No  such  “frenzy,”  to  use  Mr.  Jefferson’s 
favorite  expression,  has  ever  since  been  known  in  America. 

Democratic  societies  were  founded  in  imitation  of  Jacobin  clubs ; 
every  thing  that  was  respectable  in  society  was  denounced  as  aris- 
tocratic ; politeness  was  looked  upon  as  a sort  of  lese  repuhlicanisme  ; 
the  common  forms  of  expression  in  use  by  the  sans  culottes  were 
adopted  by  their  American  disciples ; the  title  citizen  became  as 
common  in  Philadelphia  as  in  Paris,  and  in  the  newspapers  it  was 
the  fashion  to  announce  marriages  as  partnerships  between  citizen 
Brown,  Smith,  or  Jones,  and  the  citess  who  had  been  wooed  to  such 
an  association.  Entering  the  house  of  the  President,  citizen  Genet 
was  astonished  and  indignant  at  perceiving  in  the  vestibule  a bust 
of  Louis  XVI.,  whom  his  friends  had  beheaded,  and  he  complained 
of  this  “ insult  to  France.”  At  a dinner,  at  which  Governor  Mifflin 
was  present,  a roasted  pig  received  the  name  of  the  murdered  king, 
and  the  head,  severed  from  the  body,  was  carried  round  to  each  of 


LIBRARY 
Of  m 

UNIVERSIIY  Of  ILLINOIS 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


351 


the  guests,  who,  after  placing  the  liberty  cap  on  his  own  head,  pro- 
nounced the  word  “ Tyrant ! ” and  proceeded  to  mangle  with  his 
knife  that  of  the  luckless  creature  doomed  to  be  served  for  so  un- 
worthy a company.  One  of  the  democratic  taverns  displayed  as 
a sign  a revolting  picture  of  the  mutilated  and  bloody  corpse  of 
Marie  Antoinette. 

The  extraordinary  conduct  of  Genet,  crowned  with  his  auda- 
cious appeal  from  the  government  to  the  people,  is  fully  detailed 
in  the  best  histories  we  have  of  those  times.  It  was  the  adminis- 
tration of  Eobespierre,  the  Keign  of  Terror,  which  he  represented, 
and  for  which  the  democrats  claimed  the  unhesitating  and  unques- 
tioning support  of  this  country.  The  President  at  length  com- 
plained of  him,  and  he  was  recalled,  but  a change  of  factions  hav- 
ing occurred  in  the  republic  of  homicides,  he  did  not  deem  it 
expedient  to  return,  and,  marrying  Cornelia  Tappan  Clinton,  a 
daughter  of  the  governor  of  New  York,  he  selected  a home  in 
that  state,  and  ever  afterwards  resided  there.* 

* It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  this  celebrated  person  was  possessed  of  eminent  capacities  and 
accomplishments,  and  that  his  official  conduct  in  this  country  has  been  defended  with  ability  and 
eloquence.  He  was  a member  of  one  of  the  first  families  of  France,  and  his  father  was  for  the  long 
period  of  forty-five  years  connected  with  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs.  One  of  his  sisters  was 
Madame  Campan,  so  well  known  for  her  abilities  and  intimate  relations  with  the  royal  family, 
and  another  was  the  beautiful  Madame  Anguie,  mother-in-law  of  Marshal  Ney.  The  subject  of 
this  note  was  born  on  the  eighth  of  January,  1763,  and  such  was  his  intellectual  precocity  that 
when  but  twelve  years  of  age  he  received  a gold  medal  and  a flattering  letter  from  Gustavus 
III.  for  a translation  of  the  history  of  Eric  XIV.  into  the  Swedish  language,  with  historical  re- 
marks by  himself.  He  became  a member  of  several  of  the  most  distinguished  learned  societies 
of  Europe,  and  from  his  boyhood  was  employed  in  honorable  public  offices,  having  when  only 
fourteen  been  appointed  translating  secretary  to  Monsieur,  eldest  brother  of  the  king,  and  since 
Louis  XVHI.  He  was  attached  to  the  embassies  of  Berlin,  Vienna,  London,  and  St.  Petersburg, 
and  remained  in  Russia  five  years  as  charge  d'affaires.  His  indignant  protest  against  an  order  by 
the  empress  to  leave  her  dominions,  when  Louis  XVI.  was  dethroned,  won  for  him  a flattering 
reception  by  the  revolutionary  government  on  his  return  to  Paris,  and  he  was  made  adjutant 
general  of  the  armies  of  the  republic,  and  minister  to  Holland ; but  a belief  that  he  would  be 
more  useful  in  America  caused  him  to  be  sent  to  this  country  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  and 
Consul  General.  With  Mr.  Jefferson  he  was  very  intimate,  notwithstanding  the  position  of  that 
eminent  character  in  the  cabinet  of  Washington,  until  circumstances  rendered  such  an  intimacy 


352 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


During  the  remainder  of  his  administration,  Washington  and  his 
friends  were  continually  occupied  in  combating  the  influence  of  that 
party  which  now  for  the  first  time  became  capable  of  a formidable 
opposition,  and  which  declared  through  its  journals  that  it  would  not 
permit  “ the  mushroom  lordlings  of  the  day,  the  enemies  of  Ameri- 
can as  well  as  of  French  liberty,  to  vilify  with  impunity  the  patri- 
ots,” Eobespierre,  Danton,  Marat,  Hebert,  Barere,  Couthon,  Fouquier 
Tinville,  Collot  d’Herbois,  and  the  rest  of  that  abhorred  company, 
of  whom  the  least  infamous  presented  a spectacle  more  revolting 
to  human  nature  than  any  monster  ever  known  in  other  history. 

IY. 

The  particulars  of  the  French  revolution  from  day  to  day  filled 
the  journals  and  formed  the  subjects  of  conyersation  in  drawing- 
rooms and  public  and  private  assemblies  of  every  description 
throughout  the  country.  More  than  even  the  distinctions  of  whig 
and  tory,  patriot  or  loyalist,  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  war  of  In- 
dependence, feelings  for  or  against  the  rabble  of  Paris  became  the 
rule  of  friendship  and  of  every  sort  of  personal  relation.  What- 
ever the  inherited  or  acquired  social  rank,  whatever  the  abilities, 
education,  or  manners,  of  men  or  women,  attaching  themselves  to 
the  Jacobin  side,  it  would  be  absurd  to  say  that  they  were  not 
essentially  unworthy  and  base.  The  true  respectability  of  the  na- 
tion was  in  the  federal  party,  and  it  is  a notorious  and  universally 
received  truth  that  it  continued  to  be  so  until  that  party  was  over- 
thrown. Of  the  federal  party  Washington  was  not- simply  a mem- 

no  longer  useful  to  the  secretary.  Genet’s  charge  that  he  had  used  to  him  “ a language  official 
and  a language  confidential,”  suggests  an  explanation  of  what  is  most  questionable  in  his  own 
conduct.  M.  Genet  was  twice  married.  His  second  wife  was  a daughter  of  Hr.  Osgood,  the 
first  Postmaster  General  under  the  Constitution.  He  was  taken  ill  in  consequence  of  riding 
twelve  miles  to  attend  a meeting  of  an  agricultural  society  of  which  he  was  president,  and  be- 
fore  which  he  was  appointed  to  deliver  an  address,  and  died,  at  his  place  in  Greenbush,  near 
Albany,  on  the  fourteenth  of  July,  1834. 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


353 


ber  or  a disciple,  as  has  sometimes  been  alleged ; he  was  its  founder, 
its  head,  its  front,  its  very  soul. 

In  the  summer  of  1794  occurred  the  insurrection  in  the  western 
counties  of  Pennsylvania.  The  gradual  growth  of  the  spirit  of 
discontent,  which  here  culminated  in  organized  rebellion,  had  for 
many  months  excited  the  most  painful  reflections  and  apprehensions 
among  wise  and  patriotic  men,  in  the  metropolis,  and  in  all  the 
states.  Washington  wrote  on  the  subject  to  Governor  Henry  Lee, 
of  Virginia,  that  he  considered  the  insurrection  a fruit  of  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  democratic  societies,  and  congratulated  with  him  on 
the  fact  that  as  far  as  his  information  extended  it  was  viewed  with 

indignation  and  abhorrence,  except  by  those  who  had  never  missed 

/ 

of  an  opportunity,,  by  side  blows  or  otherwise,  to  attack  the  admin- 
istration. When,  by  a course  of  action  alike  energetic  and  mas- 
terly, the  insurgents  were  put  down,  the  Chief  wrote  to  John  Jay : 
“ That  the  self-created  societies  which  have  spread  themselves  over 
this  country  have  been  laboring  incessantly  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dis- 
trust, jealousy,  and  discontent,  thereby  hoping  to  effect  some  revo- 

' N 

lution  of  the  government,  is  not  unknown  to  you ; that  they  have 
been  the  fomenters  of  the  western  disturbances  admits  of  no  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  will  examine'-their  conduct ; but,  for- 
tunately, they  precipitated  a crisis  for  which  they  were  not  prepared, 
and  have  unfolded  views  which  I trust  will  effect  their  annihilation 
sooner  than  it  otherwise  would  have  happened,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  .has  afforded  an  occasion  for  the  people  to  show  their  abhor- 
rence of  the  result,  and  their  attachment  to  the  constitution  and 
laws ; for  I believe  that  five  times  the  number  of  militia  that  was 
required,  would  have  come  forward,  if  it  had  been  necessary,  in 
support  of  them.” 

To  illustrate  the  feeling  of  the  better  class  of  people  in  this 
crisis,  he  says,  with  a patriotic  exultation,  that  “ there  are  instances 
45 


354 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


of  general  officers  going  at  the  head  of  a single  troop ; of  field  offi- 
cers, when  they  came  to  places  of  rendezvous,  and  found  no  com- 
mand for  them  in  that  grade,  turning  into  the  ranks  and  proceeding 
as  private  soldiers,  under  their  own  captains ; and  of  numbers,  pos- 
sessing the  first  fortunes  in  the  country,  standing  in  the  ranks  as 
private  men,  and  marching  day  by  day  with  their  knapsacks  and 
haversacks  at  their  backs,  sleeping  on  straw,  with  a single  blanket, 
in  a soldier’s  tent,  during  the  frosty  nights  which  we  have  had,  by 
way  of  example  to  others.  Nay,  more : many  young  Quakers,  of  the 
first  families,  character,  and  property,  not  discouraged  by  the  elders, 
have  turned  into  the  ranks  and  are  marching  with  the  troops.” 

Y. 

Mr.  Jefferson  had  retired  from  the  secretaryship  of  state  and 
had  no  longer  an  official  connection  with  public  affairs.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Edmund  Randolph,  whose  place  in  the  cabinet 
was  filled  by  William  Bradford,*  a young  lawyer  of  spotless  char- 
acter and  splendid  talents,  who  had  previously  been  Attorney  Gen- 
eral and  a Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  result  of  the  western  insurrection  had  an  important  effect 

* We  linger  with  delight  over  a fame  so  beautiful  and  unsullied  as  that  of  William  Bradford, 
and  recall  with  a sentiment  of  melancholy  that  he  died  just  as  “ his  greatness  was  a ripening.” 
From  an  interesting  memoir  of  him  by  the  late  Horace  Binney  Wallace,  we  learn  that  he  was 
born  in  Philadelphia  in  1755,  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1772,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1179, 
after  having  served  some  time  in  the  army,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  in  1780,  when  but 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  was  appointed  Attorney  General  of  Pennsylvania.  From  this  position 
he  was  promoted  in  August,  1791,  to  be  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state; 
“ but  the  splendor  of  his  abilities,”  says  Mr.  Wallace,  “ the  fame  of  his  devotion  to  business,  of 
his  acute  sagacity  and  sound  judgment,  and  of  his  stainless  integrity,  had  attracted  the  regard 
of  that  great  personage  who  then  administered  the  national  councils,  and  who  had  become  per- 
sonally well  acquainted  with  him  during  the  war  of  Independence ; and  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  January,  1794,  Mr.  Bradford,  having  previously  resigned  the  office  of  judge,  was  commissioned 
by  President  Washington  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States. ...  He  shared  in  an  especial 
and  marked  degree  the  confidence  of  Washington,  who  respected  a character  kindred  to  his  own 
in  the  purity  of  its  purposes,  and  adorned  with  all  the  accomplishments  that  render  merit 
amiable.’' 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


355 


on  the  tone  if  not  on  the  purposes  of  the  democrats,  and  the  feder 
alists  contemplated  the  wise  and  successful  exercise  of  power  on  the 
part  of  the  executive  with  unhesitating  and  undisguised  satisfaction, 
not  more  as  a vindication  and  support  of  law  and  a proof  of  the 
self-sustaining  capacity  of  the  government,  than  as  a signal  rebuke 
and  humiliation  of  the  intriguing  faction  which  had  hoped  in  a dif- 
ferent conclusion  of  the  matter  to  find  the  means  of  entirely  de- 
stroying the  nation’s  confidence  in  Washington  and  his  friends. 
The  feelings  of  the  democrats  were  of  course  shared  by  Fauchet, 
the  new  French  minister,  and  in  his  despatches  to  the  government 
of  the  murderers,  at  Paris,  he  disclosed  some  secrets  of  their  leaders 
which  excellently  illustrate  the  quality  of  their  patriotism.  “ Scarce 
was  the  commotion  known,”  says  the  minister,  referring  to  this  re- 
bellion, “ when  the  Secretary  of  State  came  to  my  house ; all  his 
countenance  was  grief ; he  requested  of  me  a private  conversation ; 
‘ It  is  all  over,’  he  said  to  me ; ‘ a civil  war  is  about  to  ravage  our 
unhappy  country ; four  men,  by  their  talents,  them  industry,  their 
influence,  their  energy,  may  save  it ; but,  debtors  of  English  mer- 
chants, they  will  be  deprived  of  their  liberty  it*  they  take  the 
slightest  step  ; could  you  lend  them  instantaneous  funds  sufficient 
to  shelter  them  from  English  persecution  ? ’ This  inquiry  astonished 
me ; it  was  impossible  for  me  to  make  a satisfactory  answer : you 
know  my  want  of  power,  and  my  defect  of  pecuniary  means ; I 
shall  draw  myself  from  the  affair  by  some  commonplace  remarks, 
and  by  throwing  myself  on  the  pure  and  disinterested  principles 
of  the  republic.” 

The  reference  to  “ the  pure  and  disinterested  principles  of  the 
republic  ” must  have  struck  Mr.  Randolph  as  an  example  of  such 
refined  impudence  as  is  rarely  exhibited  by  the  greatest  adepts  in 
that  sort  of  display;  but  the  answer  was  probably  conclusive  as 
to  the  chances  of  obtaining  any  money  from  Mr.  Fauchet. 


356 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


Before  Mr.  Randolph  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Jefferson  informs  us,  in  his  “Anas,”  that  he  had  a conversation  with 
the  President  as  to  his  fitness  for  that  office.  The  President  said, 
“ I do  not  know  what  is  thought  of  Mr.  Randolph.”  The  retiring 
premier  remarks,  “ I avoided  noticing  the  last  observation,  and  he 
put  the  question  to  me  directly.  I then  told  him  I went  so  little 
into  society  as  to  be  unable  to  answer  it.”  Yet  Mr.  Jefferson  con- 
fesses in  his  account  of  this  conversation : “ I knew  that  the  embar- 
rassments in  his  private  affairs  had  obliged  him  to  use  expedients 
which  had  injured  him  with  the  merchants  and  shop-keepers,  and 
affected  his  character  for  independence,  and  that  these  embarrass- 
ments were  serious,  and  were  not  likely  soon  to  cease.” 

In  the  beginning  of  1795  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  leader  and  master 
champion  of  the  ideas  of  the  respectable  classes,  resigned  his  office. 
The  confused  and  complicated  facts  of  our  financial  condition,  fur- 
nished from  a thousand  different  sources,  had  come  from  his  hand 
solidified  and  transparent ; and  with  consummate  genius  and  judg- 
ment he  had  so  organized  the  treasury  that  but  little  was  left  for 
his  successors  to  do  except  to  execute  his  simple  and  comprehensive 
plans.  The  insufficiency  of  his  salary  for  the  support  of  a numer- 
ous family  was  the  immediate  and  perhaps  principal  reason  for  his 
withdrawal  from  the  administration.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Wolcott.  General  Knox,  for  similar  causes,  had  resigned  a few 
weeks  before,  and  his  place  had  been  filled  by  Colonel  Pickering. 
The  original  cabinet  was  thus  entirely  changed,  and  the  new  one 
consisted  of  Edmund  Randolph,  Secretary  of  State,  Oliver  Wol- 
cott, of  the  Treasury,  Timothy  Pickering,  of  War,  and  William 
Bradford,  Attorney  General. 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


357 


VI. 

The  relations  of  the  United  States  with  Great  Britain  were  in 
a very  critical  condition,  and  war  with  that  country  was  ardently 
desired  by  the  franco-democratic  party,  and  dreaded  in  an  equal 
degree  by  all  those  who  intelligently  endeavored  to  promote  our 
own  best  interests.  The  Jacobins  were  startled  by  the  appointment 
of  John  Jay  to  be  Envoy  Extraordinary  to  the  Court  of  London ; 
they  denounced  the  opening  of  any  negotiations  with  “ our  ancient 
enemy,”  and  were  in  a rage  that  the  Chief  Justice  should  have 
been  selected  for  such  a duty.  Mr.  Jay  sailed  from  New  York  in 
April,  1794,  and  on  the  seventh  of  March,  1795,  the  treaty  which 
he  had  negotiated  arrived  in  Philadelphia.  The  President,  to  pre- 
vent the  preoccupation  of  the  public  mind,  did  not  allow  its  provi- 
sions to  be  known  by  any  person  except  Mr.  Randolph ; yet  within 
two  days  after,  a series  of  papers  was  commenced  in  Bache’s  pa- 
per, the  new  organ  of  the  democrats,  condemning  it  in  the  most 
opprobrious  terms.  As  it  had  not  been  published  in  England,  and 
the  British  minister  had  not  received  a copy  of  it,  the  President 
was  surprised  at  these  attacks,  but  expressed  no  suspicion  as  to  the 
betrayal  of  his  official  confidence.  When  the  treaty  was  submitted 
to  the  Senate,  Mr.  Mason,  a senator  from  Virginia,  gave  a copy  of  it 
to  the  same  journal,  The  Aurora,  and  the  whole  country  was  quickly 
filled  with  its  denunciation,  and  with  abuse  of  the  President,  whom 
the  democratic  writers  declared  to  be  without  any  of  the  qualifica- 
tions of  a statesman,  or  even  of  a soldier,  and  charged  with  being 
the  tool  of  England,  and  with  having  fraudulently  drawn  money 
from  the  Treasury.  “Will  not  the  world  be  led  to  conclude,” 
wrote  one  of  these  creatures,  “that  the  mask  of  political  hypoc- 
risy has  been  worn  alike  by  a Caesar,  a Cromwell,  and  a Wash- 
ington ? ” 


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The  Chief  was  calm  and  unmoved  amid  the  storm,  and,  guided 
by  a wisdom  and  discretion  which  now  amaze  the  profoundest  states- 
men who  contemplate  the  circumstances  under  which  he  acted  — 
administering  a novel  system  of  government,  without  any  prece- 
dents to  consult  as  to  his  constitutional  powers  and  duties  — pur- 
sued his  course  to  the  end,  in  a manner  which  was  approved  by  his 
sense  and  his  conscience,  and  has  since  been  applauded  by  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  nation. 


VII. 

Mr.  Wolcott  was  dining  with  Mr.  Hammond,  the  British  min- 
ister, at  his  country  house  near  the  city,  on  Sunday,  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  July.  Mr.  Hammond  had  recently  married  one  of  the 
beautiful  Misses  Allen,  daughters  of  Mr.  Andrew  Allen,  and  he 
found  that  gentleman  present,  with  one  or  two  Englishmen,  who 
were  in  the  minister’s  confidence.  After  dinner  Mr.  Hammond  took 
Mr.  Wolcott  aside  and  informed  him  that  he  had  just  received  de- 
spatches from  Lord  Grenville,  transmitting  certain  letters  from  M. 
Fauchet  to  the  French  government,  which  had  been  thrown  over- 
board from  the  Jean  Bart,  a French  packet,  on  the  approach  of  an 
English  vessel  of  war,  but  recovered  by  an  Englishman  who  plunged 
into  the  water  after  them.  Among  these  papers  was  the  celebrated 
“ Letter  to  the  Minister  on  Politics,”  embracing  the  “ precious  con- 
fessions” of  Mr.  Randolph,  the  American  Secretary  of  State.  It 
disclosed  the  entire  policy  of  the  democrats  for  the  ruin  of  Wash- 
ington’s administration.  Referring  to  his  previous  despatch,  in 
which  he  had  detailed  Mr.  Randolph’s  application  to  him  for 
money,  just  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  insurrection  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  minister  exclaims,  “ Thus  the  consciences  of  the  pretended 
patriots  of  America  already  have  their  prices ! It  is  very  true,  that 
the  certainty  of  these  conclusions,  painful  to  be  drawn,  will  forever 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


359 


exist  in  our  archives ! What  will  be  the  old  age  of  this  govern- 
ment, if  it  is  thus  early  decrepid ! ” 

Mr.  Bradford,  the  Attorney  General,  was  ill,  at  his  house  in  the 
country,  where,  on  the  twenty-ninth,  Mr.  Pickering  and  Mr.  Wol- 
cott waited  upon  him,  and  they  there  drew  up  a letter  to  the  Presi- 
dent, who  was  then  at  Mount  Vernon,  requesting  his  immediate 
return  to  the  capital.  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  the  eleventh 
of  August,  and  Mr.  Wolcott  without  delay  communicated  to  him  the 
letter  and  the  circumstances  under  which  he  received  it. 

The  President  concluded  not  to  take  any  notice  of  this  extraor- 
dinary revelation  until  the  treaty  should  be  disposed  of,  and  in  the 
mean  time,  as  he  could  not  consider  Mr.  Bandolph  guilty  unheard, 
continued  to  treat  him  as  if  nothing  had  happened  to  lessen  his 
confidence  in  his  integrity.  At  a meeting  of  the  cabinet  for  the 
consideration  of  the  treaty,  Mr.  Randolph  opposed  its  ratification ; 
but  his  opposition  no  longer  had  any  influence  on  the  mind  of  the 
President,  who  signed  it  on  the  fourteenth. 

On  the  nineteenth,  while  W ashington  was  in  conversation  with  Mr. 
Pickering  and  Mr.  Wolcott,  whom  he  had  requested  to  be  present, 
Mr.  Randolph  entered,  and  as  he  advanced  into  the  room,  he  arose 
and  presented  to  him  the  intercepted  letter,  requesting  him  to  read 
it,  and  make  such  observations  upon  it  as  he  thought  proper.  The 
Secretary  perused  it  silently  and  with  composure  until  he  arrived 
at  the  passage  which  refers  to  his  “ precious  confessions,”  when  he 
manifested  embarrassment,  but  proceeded  to  read  the  rest  of  the 
letter  with  careful  attention.  He  made  some  desultory  and  un- 
connected observations  on  the  several  paragraphs,  but  betrayed 
no  deep  emotion.  Perceiving  however  that  he  was  confused,  the 
President  requested  him  to  step  into  another  room  and  consider 
what  he  had  to  say ; he  did  so,  and  after  a few  moments  returned, 
and  said  he  would  make  his  answer  in  writing.  He  immediately 


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resigned  his  office,  promising  the  public  an  explanation  of  his 
conduct. 

M.  Fauchet  had  been  superseded  by  M.  Adet,  and  had  just  gone 
to  Newport  to  embark  for  France.  Mr.  Randolph  followed  him, 
and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a certificate  of  his  innocence,  but  it  was 
not  regarded  by  even  his  own  friends  as  of  any  importance.  His 
“Vindication”  was  a long  time  in  making  its  appearance.  In  Octo- 
ber he  wrote  to  the  President  that  it  was  only  delayed  for  permis- 
sion to  publish  one  of  his  letters ; and  he  was  answered  that  he  was 
at  “ liberty  to  publish  any  and  every  private  and  confidential  letter 
he  had  ever  written  him ; nay,  more,  every  word  he  ever  uttered 
to  him  or  in  his  presence,  whence  he  could  derive  any  advantage.” 
When  at  length  the  pamphlet  came  out,  it  was  sarcastically  de- 
scribed as  really  a “ vindication,”  not  of  his  conduct,  but  of  his 
resignation. 

Edmund  Randolph  had  been  an  object  of  Washington’s  kindly 
interest  from  his  youth ; his  powerful  influence  had  caused  him  to 
be  elected  Governor  of  Virginia ; he  had  appointed  him  succes- 
sively Attorney  General  and  Secretary  of  State ; and  had  treated 
him  in  every  way  with  unlimited  confidence  and  almost  parental 
fondness.  The  vulgar  and  violent  abuse  with  which  he  was  assailed 
in  the  disgraced  minister’s  “ Vindication,”  therefore  incensed  him 
to  an  extraordinary  degree ; the  occasion  was  one  of  those  in  which 
his  feelings  for  a moment  obtained  a mastery  over  his  habitual  self- 
control.  We  have  from  unquestionable  authority  an  anecdote  il- 
lustrating this,  which  has  not  been  hitherto  published.  Upon  the 
settlement  of  the  boundary  between  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
some  of  Washington’s  lands  fell  within  the  former  state,  and  the  late 
Mr.  James  Ross  of  Pittsburg,  was  his  agent  for  the  sale  of  them. 
He  came  to  Philadelphia  to  settle  his  account,  and  sending  wbrd 
to  the  President  that  he  would  wait  upon  him,  at  his  pleasure,  was 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


361 


invited  to  breakfast  the  next  morning.  On  arriving  he  found  all 
the  ladies — the  Custises,  Lewises,  Mrs.  Washington,  and  others  — 
in  the  parlor,  obviously  in  great  alarm.  Mr.  Ross  described  them 
as  gathered  together  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  like  a flock  of  par- 
tridges in  a field,  when  a hawk  is  in  the  neighborhood.  Very  soon 
the  President  entered,  and  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Koss,  but  looked 
dark  and  lowering.  They  went  in  to  breakfast ; and  after  a little 
while  the  Secretary  of  War  came  in,  and  said  to  Washington, 
“ Have  you  seen  Mr.  Randolph’s  pamphlet  ? ” “I  have,”  said  Wash- 
ington, and  raising  his  arm,  and  denouncing  in  terms  of  a strong 
and  most  emphatic  kind  its  truth,  brought  his  fist  down  upon  the 
table  with  all  his  strength,  and  with  a violence  which  made  the 
cups  and  plates  start  from  their  places.  Ross  said  he  felt  infinitely 
relieved ; for  he  had  feared  that  something  in  his  own  conduct 
had  occasioned  the  blackness  of  the  President’s  countenance.  The 
late  Chief  Justice  Gibson  had  this  from  Ross  himself;  and  he 
mentioned  it  at  the  house  of  an  intimate  acquaintance  in  Philadel- 
phia, as  showing  that,  naturally,  Washington  was  a man  of  extra- 
ordinary passions  and  sensibilities,  though  they  were  seldom  exhib- 
ited with  much  vehemence. 

vin. 

If  it  sometimes  happened  that  Washington  failed  of  that  self- 
control  which  is  so  difficult  for  a man  of  his  intensely  passionate 
and  excitable  nature,  his  watchfulness  and  powerful  will  generally 
enabled  him  to  conceal  his  emotions  and  opinions  from  the  most 
acute  and  determined  inquisition.  While  Jay’s  treaty  was  under 
discussion,  it  was  rumored  in  Philadelphia  that  a great  mob  in  Lon- 
don had  set  the  government  at  defiance,  destroyed  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Pitt,  and  threatened  the  tower.  The  day  this  report  reached 
46 


362 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  city,  the  late  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  who  was  one  of  the  chaplains 
of  Congress,  dined  with  the  President.  When  he  entered  the 
drawing-room  he  found  the  company  all  engaged  in  animated  con- 
versation on  this  subject,  and  Washington  asked  him  if  he  had 
seen  any  newspaper  allusion  to  it,  remarking  that  he  himself  had 
not.  Green  replied,  that  as  he  was  leaving  his  house,  a few  moments 
before,  he  had  picked  up  a paper,  just  thrown  into  his  entry,  and 
hastily  read  an  article  in  which  the  intelligence  was  recited.  The 
rumor  was  calculated  to  produce  a profound  sensation,  and  it  was 
of  course  discussed  with  much  feeling  at  the  table  as  well  as  in  the 
drawing-room,  but  although  the  President  listened  to  the  conversa 
tion  and  joined  in  it  with  apparent  freedom,  neither  Green  nor  any 
one  could  discover  whether  he  thought  it  true  or  false,  or  wished 
it  to  be  one  way  or  the  other.  As  little  turbulence  of  soul  was 
betrayed  in  his  manner  or  his  countenance  as  if  the  debate  had 
been  of  some  abstract  question  in  philosophy. 

The  democrats,  finding  themselves  unable  to  answer  the  argu- 
ments of  the  federalists  in  support  of  the  treaty,  circulated  a re- 
port through  the  country  that  the  printed  speeches  of  that  side 
were  known  to  be  made  by  Englishmen,  who  had  come  over  to 
work  in  that  way,  some  at  five  guineas  a speech,  and  some  at  as 
high  as  ten ; but  that  a speech  could  be  written  and  printed  by 
them  at  almost  any  price. 

The  great  speech  upon  the  treaty,  the  greatest  speech  ever  made 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  before  Daniel  Webster  came 
into  that  body,  was  by  Fisher  Ames.  Ames  had  written  in  a hu- 
morous letter  to  Jeremiah  Smith  that  his  speeches  should  be  com- 
posed and  delivered  by  some  of  the  ingenious  English  gentlemen 
engaged  in  that  business,  and  Smith  had  answered  that  his  silence 
should  be  permitted,  “ by  me,  because  any  effort  will  injure  your 
health ; by  my  friend  Harper,  because  he  talks  all  the  time  him- 


DISCONTENT  AND  SEDITION. 


368 


self ; and  by  the  Jacobins,  because  they  never  like  your  speaking.” 
He  was  so  feeble  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  take  any 
active  part  in  the  business  of  the  session,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
he  intended,  up  to  the  morning  of  the  day  when  his  famous  oration 
was  pronounced,  to  say  more  than  a few  words  on  the  subject ; but 
the  exhibitions  of  ignorance  and  dishonesty  by  the  enemies  of  the 
government  compelled  him  to  that  sudden  and  splendid  attempt 
for  the  honor  of  his  country,  which,  even  in  the  imperfect  and  un- 
worthy report  of  it  which  was  written  out  from  memory  by  two 
of  his  friends,  stands  as  a sufficient  vindication  of  the  traditional 
fame  of  his  eloquence.  John  Adams  heard  it,  and  gave  a graphic 
account  of  it  in  a letter  to  his  wife.  “ Judge  Iredell  and  I hap- 
pened to  sit  together.  Our  feelings  beat  in  unison.  ‘ My  God,  how 
great  he  is!’  says  Iredell;  ‘how  great  he  has  been!’  ‘He  has 
been  noble,’  said  I.  After  some  time  Iredell  breaks  out,  ‘ Bless  my 
stars,  I never  heard  any  thing  so  great  since  I was  born ! ’ ‘ It  is 

divine  ! ’ said  I ; and  thus  we  went  on  with  our  interjections,  not  to 
say  our  tears,  till  the  end.  Tears  enough  were  shed.  Not  a dry 
eye,  I believe,  in  the  house,  except  of  some  of  the  jackasses  who 
had  occasioned  a necessity  of  the  oratory.  These  attempted  to 
laugh,  but  their  visages  ‘ grinned  horribly  ghastly  smiles.’  They 
smiled  like  Foulon’s  son-in-law  when  they  made  him  kiss  his  father’s 
dead  and  bleeding  head.  The  situation  of  the  man  excited  compas- 
sion, and  interested  all  hearts  in  his  favor.  The  ladies  wished  his  soul 
had  a better  body.” 

The  friends  of  the  treaty  were  mobbed,  and  Mr.  Jay  himself 
was  burned  in  effigy  in  several  cities.  In  Philadelphia  the  rabble, 
led  by  some  persons  of  respectable  official  or  social  positions,  held 
a meeting  in  one  of  the  public  squares,  and  passed  demagogue  reso- 
lutions against  it.  The  treaty  was  thrown  from  the  select  agitators 
on  a stage  to  the  canaille,  who  placed  it  on  a pole,  and  proceeded 


364 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


with  it  to  the  house  of  the  French  minister,  before  which  they  per- 
formed some  ceremony,  and  then  to  the  house  of  the  British  min 
ister,  before  which  they  burned  it,  with  huzzas  and  acclamations. 
The  same  was  done  before  the  residences  of  Mr.  Bond  and  Mr. 
Bingham,  and  the  wretches  broke  some  of  the  glass  of  the  latter 
gentleman’s  windows. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


i. 

From  the  note-book  of  the  late  Mr.  Horace  Binney  Wallace, 
of  Philadelphia,  I am  permitted  to  transcribe  a record  of  some 
conversations  with  his  mother,  Mrs.  Susan  Wallace,  in  which  that 
lady — so  eminent  for  whatever  is  beautiful  and  noble  in  her  sex  — 
disclosed  her  recollections  of  Washington’s  habits,  personal  appear- 
ance, and  manners.  On  the  removal  of  the  government  to  Phila- 
delphia, Mrs.  Mary  Binney,  mother  of  Mrs.  Wallace,  resided  in 
Market  street,  opposite  to  General  Washington’s  — the  door  of  her 
house  a few  paces  further  east.  It  was  the  General’s  custom,  fre- 
quently, when  the  day  was  fine,  to  come  out  to  walk,  attended  by 
his  secretaries,  Mr.  Lear  and  Major  William  Jackson  — one  on  each 
side.  He  always  crossed  directly  over  from  his  own  door  to  the 
sunny  side  of  the  street,  and  walked  down.  He  was  dressed  in 
black,  and  all  three  wore  cocked  hats.  She  never  observed  them 
conversing ; she  often  wondered  and  watched,  as  a child,  to  see  if 
any  of  the  party  spoke,  but  never  could  perceive  that  any  thing 
was  said.  It  was  understood  that  the  aids  were  kept  at  regal  dis- 
tance. General  Washington  had  a large  family  coach,  a light  car- 
riage, and  a chariot,  all  alike  — cream-colored,  painted  with  three 
enamelled  figures  on  each  panel  — and  very  handsome.  He  drove 


36G 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


in  the  coach  to  Christ  Church  every  Sunday  morning,  with  two 
horses;  drove  the  carriage  and  four  into  the  country  — to  Lands- 
downe,  The  Hills,  and  other  places.  In  going  to  the  Senate  he 
used  the  chariot,  with  six  horses.  All  his  servants  were  white,  and 
wore  liveries  of  white  cloth,  trimmed  with  scarlet  or  orange.  Mrs. 
Wallace*  saw  General  Washington  frequently  at  public  balls. 
His  manners  there  were  very  gracious  and  pleasant.  She  went 
with  Mrs.  Oliver  Wolcott  to  one  of  Mrs.  Washington’s  drawing- 
rooms. The  General  was  present,  and  came  up  and  bowed  to 
every  lady  after  she  was  seated.  Mrs.  Binney  visited  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington frequently.  It  was  Mrs.  Washington’s  custom  to  return 
visits  on  the  third  day : and  she  thus  always  returned  Mrs.  Bin- 
ney’s.  A footman  would  run  over,  knock  loudly,  and  announce 
Mrs.  Washington,  who  would  then  come  over  with  Mr.  Lear.  Mrs. 
Wallace  met  Mrs.  Washington  in  her  mother’s  parlor : her  manners 
were  very  easy,  pleasant,  and  unceremonious,  with  the  character- 

* Mrs.  Wallace,  widow  of  Mr.  Jolin  Bradford  Wallace,  and  sister  of  Mr.  Horace  Binney,  died 
on  the  eighth  of  July,  1849.  The  Rev.  Herman  Hooker,  D.D.,  in  an  eloquent  and  appropriate  tri- 
bute to  her  memory,  says : “ I cannot  speak  of  her  in  terms  suitable  to  my  conceptions.  No 
praise  befits  the  character  or  the  taste  of  such  a person  but  a truthful  and  grateful  mention  of 
her  virtues.  These  were  so  numerous  and  so  marked  that  any  just  mention  of  them  will  seem 
to  border  on  exaggeration.  She  was  a model  of  a woman.  Her  elevation  was  such,  that  seen 
through  the  distance  of  a slight  or  formal  acquaintance,  it  might  be  mistaken  for  pride  or  austerity 
But  there  are  many  persons  of  even  humble  condition  who  can  testify  with  what  ease  and  readi 
ness  she  could  appreciate  the  feelings  and  merits  of  all.  So  various  were  her  accomplishments, 
so  profound,  ready,  and  discerning  her  mind,  that  whether  approached  by  the  most  humble,  the 
most  refined  and  fashionable,  or  the  most  intelligent  and  learned  persons,  she  was  never  at  a loss 
to  assume  any  manner,  or  join  in  any  conversation,  suitable  to  their  taste  and  position.  Her 
mind  was  conversant  with  principles,  and  from  these  she  could  start  out  on  any  subject,  detect 
its  nature,  and  define  its  limits.  Shb  was  always  entertaining  and  instructive.  Nothing  could 
be  said  in  her  presence  which  she  would  fail  to  appreciate  justly.  She  was  severely  just  — 
severely  conscientious.  She  had  all  the  impulsiveness  of  woman,  all  the  sensibilities  of  a culti- 
vated nature,  yet  all  were  under  discipline  and  right  control,  and  thus  added  grace,  worth,  and 
certainty,  to  all  the  virtues  of  life.”  Mrs.  Wallace  was  born  on  Washington’s  birth-day,  1778, 
and  was  just  entering  society  in  the  last  years  of  his  administration.  Her  husband  was  a nephew 
of  Mr.  Bradford,  the  second  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States.  He  was  described  by 
Daniel  Webster  as  “one  of  the  oldest,  truest,  and  most  valued  of  his  friends.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


367 


istics  of  other  Virginia  ladies.  When  Washington  retired  from 
public  life  Mrs.  Wallace  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age. 

The  recollections  of  Mr.  Richard  Rush  on  this  subject  are  in 
agreement  with  those  of  Mrs.  Wallace.  That  accomplished  and 
distinguished  gentleman  has  communicated  to  me  a very  graphic 
account  of  some  interesting  scenes,  of  which  he  was  an  observer, 
about  the  close  of  Washington’s  first  administration.  Looking 
upon  the  old  Congress  Hall,  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Sixth 
streets,  a few  years  ago,  he  says,  “I  recalled  a scene  never,  no, 
never  to  be  forgotten.  It  was,  I think,  in  1794  or  1795,  that  as  a 
boy  I was  among  the  spectators  congregated  at  this  corner,  and 
parts  close  by,  to  witness  a great  public  spectacle.  Washington 
was  to  open  the  session  of  Congress,  by  going  in  person,  as  was  his 
custom,  to  deliver  a speech  to  both  houses,  assembled  in  the  cham- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  crowd  was  immense. 
It  filled  the  whole  area  in  Chestnut  street  before  the  state  house, 
extended  along  the  line  of  Chestnut  street  above  Sixth  street,  and 
spread  north  and  south  some  distance  along  the  latter.  A way 
kept  open  for  carriages,  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  was  the  only 
space  not  closely  packed  with  people.  I had  a stand  on  the  steps 
of  one  of  the  houses  in  Chestnut  street,  which,  raising  me  above 
the  mass  of  human  heads,  enabled  me  to  see  to  advantage.  After 
waiting  long  hours,  as  it  seemed  to  a boy’s  impatience,  the  carriage 
of  the  President  at  length  slowly  drove  up,  drawn  by  four  beauti- 
ful bay  horses.  It  was  white,  with  medallion  ornaments  on  the  pan- 
els, and  the  livery  of  the  servants,  as  well  as  I remember,  was  white 
turned  up  with  red:  at  any  rate  a glowing  livery  — the  entire  dis- 
play in  equipages  at  that  era,  in  our  country  generally,  and  in  Phil- 
adelphia in  particular,  while  the  seat  of  government,  being  more 
rich  and  varied  than  now,  though  fewer  in  number.  Washington 
got  out  of  his  carriage,  and,  slowly  crossing  the  pavement,  ascended 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  steps  of  the  edifice,  upon  the  upper  platform  of  which  he 
paused,  and,  turning  half  round,  looked  in  the  direction  of  a car- 
riage which  had  followed  the  lead  of  his  own.  Thus  he  stood  for 
a minute,  distinctly  seen  by  every  body.  He  stood  in  all  his  civic 
dignity  and  moral  grandeur,  erect,  serene,  majestic.  His  costume 
was  a full  suit  of  black  velvet ; his  hair,  in  itself  blanched  by  time, 
powdered  to  snowy  whiteness,  a dress  sword  at  his  side,  and  his  hat 
held  in  his  hand.  Thus  he  stood  in  silence ; and  what  moments 
those  were ! Throughout  the  dense  crowd  profound  stillness 
reigned.  Not  a word  was  heard,  not  a breath.  Palpitations  took 
the  place  of  sounds.  It  was  a feeling  infinitely  beyond  that  which 
vents  itself  in  shouts.  Every  heart  was  full.  In  vain  would  any 
tongue  have  spoken.  All  were  gazing,  in  mute  unutterable  admi- 
ration. Every  eye  was  riveted  on  that  form  — the  greatest,  purest, 
most  exalted  of  mortals.  It  might  have  seemed  as  if  he  stood  in 
that  position  to  gratify  the  assembled  thousands  with  a full  view 
of  the  father  of  their  country.  Not  so.  He  had  paused  for  his 
secretary,  then,  I believe,  Mr.  Dandridge  or  Colonel  Lear,  who  got 
out  of  the  other  carriage,  a chariot,  decorated  like  his  own.  The 
secretary,  ascending  the  steps,  handed  him  a paper  — probably  a 
copy  of  the  speech  he  was  to  deliver  — when  both  entered  the 
building.  Then  it  was,  and  not  until  then,  that  the  crowd  sent  up 
huzzas,  loud,  long,  earnest,  enthusiastic.” 

Of  the  simple  manners  of  Washington  and  his  family  we  have 
an  interesting  account  in  the  Travels  of  Mr.  Henry  Wansey,  F.  S.  A., 
an  English  manufacturer,  who  breakfasted  with  them  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  eighth  of  June,  1T94.  “ I confess,”  he  says,  “ I was  struck 
with  awe  and  veneration,  when  I recollected  that  I was  now  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  Washington;  the  noble  and  wise  benefactor 
of  the  world,  as  Mirabeau  styles  him. . . . When  we  look  down 
from  this  truly  illustrious  character,  on  other  public  servants,  we 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ilumgis 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


36S 


find  a glowing  contrast ; nor  can  we  fix  our  attention  on  any  other 
great  men,  without  discovering  in  them  a vast  and  mortifying  dis- 
similarity  The  President  seemed  very  thoughtful,  and  was  slow 

in  delivering  himself,  which  induced  some  to  believe  him  reserved ; 
but  it  was  rather,  I apprehend,  the  result  of  much  reflection,  for  he 
had  to  me  an  appearance  of  affability  and  accommodation.  He  was 
at  this  time  in  his  sixty-third  year,  but  had  very  little  the  appear- 
ance of  age,  having  been  all  his  life  so  exceedingly  temperate. 
There  was  a certain  anxiety  visible  in  his  countenance,  with  marks 

of  extreme  sensibility Mrs.  Washington  herself  made  tea  and 

coffee  for  us.  On  the  table  were  two  small  plates  of  sliced  tongue, 
and  dry  toast,  bread,  and  butter,  but  no  broiled  fish,  as  is  the  gen- 
eral custom.  Miss  Eleanor  Custis,  her  grand-daughter,  a very 
pleasing  young  lady  of  about  sixteen,  sat  next  to  her,  and  next, 
her  grandson,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  about  two  years 
older.  There  were  but  slight  indications  of  form,  one  servant  only 
attending,  who  had  no  livery ; and  a silver  urn  for  hot  water  was 
the  only  expensive  article  on  the  table.  Mrs.  Washington  struck  me 
as  something  older  than  the  President,  though  I understand  they 
were  both  born  the  same  year ; she  was  short  in  stature,  rather  ro 
bust,  extremely  simple  in  her  dress,  and  wore  a very  plain  cap, 
with  her  gray  hair  turned  up  under  it.”  This  description  of  Mrs. 
Washington  corresponds  perfectly  with  that  in  her  portrait  by 
Trumbull,  painted  the  previous  year,  and  now  in  the  Trumbull 
Gallery  at  New  Plaven. 

Mr.  Wansey  says  her  drawing-rooms  were  objected  to  by  the 
democrats,  “ as  tending  to  give  her  a supereminency,  and  as  intro- 
ductory to  the  paraphernalia  of  courts.”  With  what  feelings  the 
excellent  woman  regarded  these  democrats  is  shown  in  an  anecdote 
of  the  same  period.  She  was  a severe  disciplinarian,  and  Nelly 
Custis  was  not  often  permitted  by  her  to  be  idle  or  to  follow  her 
47 


370 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


own  caprices.  The  young  girl  was  compelled  to  practise  at  the 
harpsichord  four  or  five  hours  every  day,  and  one  morning,  when 
she  should  have  been  playing,  her  grandmother  entered  the  room, 
remarking  that  she  had  not  heard  her  music,  and  also  that  she  had 
observed  some  person  going  out,  whose  name  she  would  much 
like  to  know.  Nelly  was  silent,  and  suddenly  her  attention  was 
arrested  by  a blemish  on  the  wall,  which  had  been  newly  painted 
a delicate  cream  color.  “ Ah,  it  was  no  federalist ! ” she  exclaim- 
ed, looking  at  the  spot,  just  above  a settee;  “none  but  a filthy 
democrat  would  mark  a place  with  his  good-for-nothing  head  in 
that  manner ! ” 

The  public  business  so  entirely  occupied  his  time  that  Wash- 
ington had  few  opportunities  of  visiting  Mount  Vernon.  In  1793 
however  he  was  there  nearly  three  months,  during  the  terrible  pe- 
riod of  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia.*  The 
disease  broke  out  some  time  in  August,  but  he  continued  at  his 
post  until  the  tenth  of  September.  He  wished  to  stay  longer,  but 
Mrs.  Washington  was  unwilling  to  leave  him  exposed  in  such  dan- 
ger, and  he  could  not  think  of  hazarding  her  life  and  the  lives  of 
the  children  by  remaining  — “the  house  in  which  we  lived,”  he 
says,  “ being  in  a manner  blockaded  by  the  disorder,  which  was 
every  day  becoming  more  and  more  fatal.”  Two  days  after  Wash- 
ington left  Mr.  Wolcott  wrote  to  his  father,  “The  apprehensions 
of  the  citizens  cannot  be  increased ; business  is  in  a great  measure 
abandoned ; the  true  character  of  man  is  disclosed,  and  he  shows 

* A striking  picture  of  the  pestilence  in  Philadelphia,  in  1793,  is  contained  in  Brockden 
Brown’s  novel  of  Arthur  Mervyn.  In  the  history  of  that  period  the  names  of  Stephen  Girard, 
already  a prosperous  merchant,  and  Matthew  Carey  and  Thomas  Clarkson,  are  honorably  con 
spicuous.  Freneau  complains  that  the  physicians  of  the  city  fled  from  the  danger  — 

“ On  prancing  steed,  with  sponge  at  nose, 

From  town  behold  Sangrado  fly ; 

Camphor  and  tar,  where’er  he  goes, 

The  infected  shafts  of  death  defy  — 

Safe,  in  an  atmosphere  of  scents, 

He  leaves  us  to  our  own  defence." 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


371 


himself  a weak,  timid,  desponding,  and  selfish  being. . . . The  rav- 
ages of  the  dreadful  sickness  are  extending,  with  added  circum- 
stances of  terror  and  distress ; many  now  die  without  attendance. 
The  kind  attentions,  the  tears  of  condolence  and  sympathy,  which 
alleviate  pain,  and  in  some  degree  reconcile  the  dying  to  them  fate, 
are  frequently  omitted  by  the  nearest  friends  and  relatives ; when 
generously  bestowed  they  are  too  often  the  price  of  life.”  Among 
the  public  characters  attacked  by  the  fever  were  Mr.  Willing  and 
Colonel  Hamilton,  but  they  recovered.  The  officers  of  government 
were  dispersed,  and  the  President  even  deliberated  on  the  propri- 
ety of  convening  Congress  elsewhere ; but  the  abatement  of  the 
disease  rendered  this  measure  unnecessary,  and  near  the  close  of 
November  the  scattered  inhabitants  returned  to  their  homes,  and 
Congress  reassembled  on  the  second  of  December. 

In  1794,  his  official  duties  not  permitting  him  to  make  more 
than  a flying  visit  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  Mrs.  Washington  decid- 
ing against  a summer  residence  in  the  city,  the  President  took  a 
house  in  Germantown,  where,  with  his  family,  he  remained  during 
the  months  of  July  and  August. 

II. 

The  old  theatre  in  Philadelphia  is  described  by  Mrs.  Adams  as 
piite  equal  to  most  of  the  theatres  out  of  France.  It  was  fre- 
> piently  visited  by  the  families  of  the  President  and  Vice  President 
during  the  seasons  of  1791  and  1792.  The  new  theatre,  erected  in 
the  latter  year,  was  not  opened,  in  consequence  of  the  yellow  fever, 
until  the  seventeenth  of  February,  1794.  The  manager  was  Wig- 
nell,  who  is  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  American  stage,  and  he 
caused  the  house  to  be  fitted  up  with  a luxurious  elegance  hitherto 
unknown  in  this  country.  The  principal  actors  were  Fennell, 
Whitlock,  Harwood,  Moreton,  Darley,  Mrs.  Oldmixon,  Mrs.  Whit- 


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THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


lock,  Mrs.  Morris,  and  Mrs.  Marshall.  Fennell  had  won  a had  fame 
by  his  pecuniary  extravagance,  in  Paris,  and  in  Philadelphia  he 
seemed  to  be  as  ambitious  of  social  as  of  professional  distinction.* 
Dunlap  says  “ he  was  the  idol  of  the  literary  youth  of  the  city,  and 
for  a time  revelled  in  the  luxury  of  stylish  living.”  His  height 
was  over  six  feet,  and  he  had  a remarkably  handsome  figure  ; his 
complexion  was  light,  with  a blush  for  every  occasion  in  which  a 
blush  could  be  graceful.  He  appeared  in  tragedy  and  genteel 
comedy,  but  was  most  successful  and  appeared  most  natural,  ac- 
cording to  Dunlap,  in  villains.  Harwood  was  a very  gentlemanly 
person,  and  had  married  Miss  Bache,  a grand-daughter  of  Dr. 
Franklin.  Moreton  was  a native  of  New  York,  and  had  led  a life 
of  singular  vicissitudes.  At  one  time  he  had  been  a cashier  of  the 
Calcutta  Bank,  in  India.  He  was  an  excellent  actor.  Mrs.  Old- 
mixon  was  the  wife  of  Sir  John  Oldmixon,  who  had  been  celebrated 
in  England  as  “ the  Bath  beau,”  the  equal  in  his  day  of  Nash  or 

* In  “ An  Apology  for  tlie  Life  of  James  Fennell,  written  by  Himself,”  the  actor  illustrates 
his  own  position  in  Philadelphia  by  the  following  anecdote : “ While  I was  returning  one  morn- 
ing from  rehearsal  at  the  theatre,  where  I had  been  detained  beyond  my  usual  time,”  he  says, 
“ a gentleman,  whom  to  my  knowledge  I had  never  seen  before,  called  to  me  by  name,  ob- 
served that  he  was  incapable  of  overtaking  me,  as  I walked  so  fast,  and  begged  me  to  stop.  I 
did  so  till  he  came  up.  He  then,  in  the  most  amiable  manner,  addressed  me  in  these  condescend- 
ing words:  ‘Mr.  Fennell,  I have  long  wished  to  be  introduced  to  you,  but  having  had  no  oppor- 
tunity, permit  me  to  introduce  myself.  My  name  is  Mifflin : they  call  me  Governor  Mifflin.  All 
I shall  say  to  you  at  present  is,  that  if  you  will  come  and  dine  with  me  at  the  Falls  (Schuylkill) 
on  Sunday  next,  I shall  be  happy  to  entertain  you.’  I replied  to  him,  that  I would  honor  myself 
by  accepting  the  invitation,  with  the  same  frankness  that  made  the  offer  so  pleasing  to  my  feel- 
ings. I attended,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  many  of  the  heroes  of  the  revolution.  I 
had  the  honor  of  entertaining  five  generals  and  other  gentlemen  at  my  house  in  the  same  even- 
ing. We  supped;  all  went  well;  and  we  parted  about  one  in  the  morning,  apparently  pleased 
with  the  amusement  of  the  preceding  hours.  But  the  generous  governor’s  feelings  did  not  end 
here ; from  this  day  he  honored  me  with  intimate  friendship.  He  requested  me  to  breakfast 
dine,  or  sup  with  him,  whenever  I should  be  disengaged,  with  the  general  privilege  of  declaring 
when  public  business  interfered.  Our  intimacy  was  founded  upon  the  principle  of  the  visitor’s 
asking,  Are  you  at  leisure?  and  the  visited  saying,  Yes,  or  No ; upon  which  answer  each  agreed 
to  enter  the  house  or  retire.  Never  did  I acknowledge  so  cordial  a reciprocity  of  sentiment,  un 
less  I may  be  permitted  to  consider  it  as  transferred  to  his  amiable  daughter  and  her  no  less 
amiable  associate.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


373 


BrummeU.  In  1796  it  was  among  the  news  paragraphs  of  a Lon- 
don journal,  “ Sir  John  Oldmixon,  whose  equipage  was  once  the 
gaze  of  Bond  street,  is  now  a gardener  near  Philadelphia ; he  drives 
his  own  cabbages  to  market,  in  his  own  cart ; and  his  wife,  formerly 
Miss  George,  sings  at  the  theatre,  and  returns  in  the  conveyance 
which  brought  vegetables  for  sale  from  Germantown.”  The  baro- 
net had  ceased  to  be  a leader  in  the  world  of  fashion,  but  it  is  said 
that  he  still  tapped  and  opened  a snuff-box  with  a grace  peculiarly 
his  own.  Mrs.  Whitlock  was  a sister  of  Mrs.  Siddons.  John  Jay 
writes  to  his  wife  on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1794,*  “Two  even- 
ings ago  I went  to  the  theatre  with  Mrs.  Robert  Morris  and  her 
family;  ‘The  Gamester,’  a deep  tragedy,  succeeded  by  a pretty 
piece  called  ‘ The  Guardian,’  were  played ; the  theatre  was  well 
filled,  and  the  performers  appeared  to  give  satisfaction ; Mrs.  Whit- 
lock was  of  the  number;  she  is  a favorite,  and  in  some  respects 
with  reason ; I do  not  think  her  equal  to  her  sister ; it  has  been 
insinuated  that  Mrs.  Siddons  was  envious  of  her  powers — I doubt 
it.”  The  Chief  Justice  adds  that  the  company  “ is  said  to  be  com- 
posed of  decent  moral  people.”  In  various  professional  excellence 
it  must  have  been  one  of  the  finest  companies  ever  in  this  country. 

Wansey,  the  English  clothier,  the  evening  after  his  breakfast 
at  the  President’s,  went  to  see  “ Every  one  has  his  Fault,”  and  “ No 
song,  no  Supper.”  He  describes  the  theatre  as  “elegant  and  con- 
venient, and  as  large  as  that  of  Covent  Garden.  To  judge  from 

* This  was  just  before  Mr.  Jay’s  appointment  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  to  the  Court  of  Lon- 
don. In  the  letter  quoted  in  the  text  he  refers  to  some  affection  of  Mrs.  Jay’s  eyes,  and  says, 
“ Tell  me  whether  they  have  regained  their  strength  and  become  as  bright  as  ever.”  This  ad- 
mirable woman’s  letters  to  her  husband,  during  his  absence,  exhibit  her  careful  management  of 
his  domestic  concerns,  and  her  cordial  attention  to  his  friends.  Mr.  Jay,  after  the  completion  of 
his  English  mission,  was  twice  elected  governor  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  Mrs.  Jay  presided 
over  the  reunions  at  the  executive  mansion  until  her  husband,  in  May,  1801,  bade  a final  adieu 
to  public  life,  and  retired  to  his  estate  at  Bedford,  where  she  found  the  quiet  happiness  for 
which  she  had  often  sighed,  but  which  she  was  not  long  to  enjoy.  She  died  in  1802,  and  was 
ouried  at  the  family  burial-place  at  Rye. 


374 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


the  dress  and  appearance  of  the  company  around  me,  and  the  actors 
and  scenery,”  he  says,  “ I should  have  thought  myself  still  in  Eng- 
land ; the  ladies  wore  small  bonnets  of  the  same  fashion  as  those  I 
saw  in  London  — some  of  chequered  straw ; many  had  their  hair 
full  dressed,  without  caps,  as  with  us,  and  very  few  had  it  in  the 
French  style ; the  younger  ladies  appeared  with  their  hair  flowing 
in  ringlets  on  their  shoulders.  The  gentlemen  had  round  hats, 
coats  with  high  collars,  cut  quite  in  the  English  fashion,  and  many 
coats  of  striped  silk.”  The  motto  over  the  stage  was,  “The  eagle 
suffers  little  birds  to  sing,”  which  W ansey  explains  by  saying  that 
“ when  it  was  in  contemplation  to  build  this  theatre  the  Quakers 
used  all  their  influence  with  Congress  to  prevent  it,  as  tending  to 
corrupt  the  manners  of  the  people  and  increase  too  much  the  love 
of  pleasure,  but  they  failed,  and  this  motto  from  Shakspeare  was 
chosen,  to  celebrate  the  triumph  of  the  players.” 

The  theatre  appears  to  have  been  prosperous  under  Wignell, 
and  it  was  fashionable,  though  the  manager  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Mrs.  Bingham,  by  refusing  on  any  terms  to  sell  her  a private 
box,  and  she  and  her  set  but  rarely  attended.'"' 


* The  venerable  William  B.  Wood,  now  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  has  just  published  an  ex- 
tremely interesting  volume  of  “ Personal  Recollections  of  the  Stage,”  in  which  the  difficulty  be- 
tween Mrs.  Bingham  and  Wignell  is  particularly  stated.  Mr.  Wood  has  always  merited  and 
enjoyed  the  fame  of  a well-mannered  and  high-minded  gentleman,  and  no  member  of  his  profes- 
sion perhaps  ever  maintained  during  a long  life  a more  enviable  position  in  society.  Referring 
to  this  subject  he  says,  “The  business  of  private  boxes  came  to  us  with  the  very  opening  of  the 
theatre  in  1793,  when  Mr.  Wignell  resisted  it  under  circumstances  very  trying  to  him,  and  which 
nothing  but  his  sense  of  the  indispensable  necessity  to  the  permanent  interests  of  the  theatre 
would  have  induced  him  to  do.  Mrs.  Bingham,  in  her  day  the  chief  leader  in  the  fashion 
of  our  city,  the  wife  of  an  early  and  valued  friend  of  Wignell  himself,  a lady  of  great  social  and 
family  influence,  and  very  extensively  connected,  proposed  for  the  purchase  of  a box,  at  any 
price  to  be  fixed  by  the  manager.  She  had  passed  much  of  her  early  married  life  in  France  and 
England,  where  she  was  uncommonly  admired,  and  being  a woman  of  exclusive  and  elegant 
tastes,  was  desirous  to  have  the  privileges  which  were  allowed  in  the  theatres  with  which  she 
had  been  familiar  abroad.  She  offered  to  furnish  and  decorate  the  box  at  her  own  expense ; but 
it  was  an  absolute  condition  that  the  key  should  be  kept  by  herself,  and  no  admission  to  it  allowed 
to  any  one  except  on  her  assent.  Mr.  Wignell  had  many  strong  inducements  to  accept  this  offer 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


375 


For  a long  time  tlie  theatre  was  riv ailed  by  the  “grand  circus” 
of  a celebrated  equestrian  named  Ricketts,  who  arrived  in  this 
country  from  Dublin,  in  1792.  Washington  and  his  family  went 
several  times  to  see  the  performances  of  the  Ricketts  company. 
He  was  present  on  the  evening  of  the  thirteenth  of  July,  1793, 
when  an  incident  occurred  which  Mr.  Jefferson  refers  to  in  his 
“ Anas.”  According  to  Dunlap’s  Advertiser,  Ricketts,  being  obliged 
in  the  middle  of  the  performance  to  drink  a glass  of  wine,  was  re- 
quired to  give  a toast,  and  instantly  drank  off  a bumper  “ To  the 
Man  of  the  People,”  which  was  received  with  general  and  loud  ap- 
plause. Mr.  Jefferson  says  Lear  told  him,  as  an  evidence  that  the 
federalists  were  in  the  habit  of  writing  in  the  character  of  their 
adversaries,  that  the  day  after  this  little  incident  “Mrs.  Washing- 
ton was  at  Mrs.  Powell’s,  who  mentioned  to  her  that  when  the 

He  was  undertaking  a new  enterprise.  He  could  name  Ids  own  sum.  It  was  a certainty.  It 
would  gratify  an  early  friend,  whose  large  fortune  might  prove  of  great  value  to  him.  He  knew 
that  it  was  probably  the  only  condition  on  which  he  was  likely  to  have  either  the  presence,  or 
perhaps  the  very  cordial  wishes  of  a fair,  elegant,  and  influential  woman,  whose  house  was  the 
rendezvous  of  the  distinguished  and  really  elegant  foreigners  whom  the  French  revolution  had 
then  brought  here.  Her  voice  in  the  small  world  of  fashion  which  Philadelphia  then  acknowl- 
edged, would  be  quite  potential.  He  looked  at  the  matter,  however,  with  much  more  compre- 
hensive and  philosophic  regards.  He  knew  that  the  theatre  in  a country  like  ours  must  depend 
entirely  for  permanent  success,  not  upon  individuals,  however  powerful,  not  upon  clubs,  cliques, 
factions,  or  parties,  but  upon  the  public  alone.  That  in  a country  where  the  spirit  of  liberty  is 
so  fierce  as  in  ours,  such  a privilege  would  excite  from  an  immense  class  a feeling  of  positive 
hostility ; and  it  made  no  difference  in  his  view  that  the  expression  of  it  might  be  suppressed, 
which  it  was  doubtful  whether  it  would  be,  as  the  suspicion  would  be  fatal.  He  saw  that  it 
must  be  a cardinal  maxim  of  any  American  manager  to  act  on  the  principles  of  his  country’s 
government,  and  on  the  recognition  of  feelings  deeply  pervading  the  structure  of  its  society;  to 
hold,  in  short,  all  men  ‘ free  ’ to  come  into  his  house,  and  ‘ equal  ’ while  they  continued  to  be  and 
behave  themselves  in  it.  (The  country  he  well  perceived  has  not,  and  cannot  have  any  class 
which,  as  a body,  possess  even  the  claims  to  exclusive  privileges  which  exist  abroad,  and  which 
give  a prestige  impossible  and  unfit  to  be  asserted  or  allowed  for  an  aristocracy  here ; an  aris- 
tocracy which,  with  occasional  exceptions,  must  be  one  of  money  merely,  the  most  despicable 
and  poorest  of  all  grounds  of  distinction.  He  therefore  with  great  address,  and  with  many  ex- 
pressions of  polite  regret,  declined  the  offers  of  his  beautiful  friend,  and  stuck  steadily  to  his 
wisely  settled  system.  The  result  was  just  as  he  anticipated.  The  lady,  though  not  capable  of 
resentment,  and  expressing  her  acquiescence  in  his  view  as  a sound  one,  scarcely  ever  visited 
the  theatre  again ; but  the  theatre  itself  was  filled  by  a constant  and  satisfied  public.” 


376 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


toast  was  given  there  was  a good  deal  of  disapprobation  manifested 
by  the  audience,  many  of  whom  put  on  their  hats  and  went  out.* 
On  inquiry  he  had  not  found  this  to  be  true,  yet  it  was  put  into 
one  of  the  papers,  and  written  under  the  character  of  a republican, 
though  he  is  satisfied  it  is  altogether  a slander  of  the  monocrats 
It  is  very  easy  to  estimate  the  value  of  such  a story.  The  state- 
ment appeared  in  what  Mr.  Jefferson  calls  a “republican  journal,” 
and  its  editors  would  scarcely  have  been  imposed  upon  under  such 
circumstances  by  a federalist. 

* The  art  of  puffing  seems  to  have  been  as  well  understood  by  the  showmen  of  that  day  as 
it  is  by  their  successors  of  our  own.  In  one  of  the  journals  appeared  the  following  ingenious 
account  of  one  of  the  exhibitions  of  Mr.  Ricketts : “ Last  Saturday  there  was  at  the  circus  a very 
splendid  company,  who  all  retired  highly  delighted.  Among  the  rest,  two  respectable  traders 
were  observed  to  hold  a very  pleasant  conversation.  Mr.  T.  ‘Well,  neighbor,  you  have  flattered 
me  to  come  here  to  throw  away  my  half-dollar.’  Mr.  F.  ‘ Have  patience,  friend,  till  the  per- 
formance begins.’  Mr.  Ricketts  enters,  riding  a single  horse.  T.  ‘ Why,  I could  do  that  myself.’ 
Mr.  Ricketts  stands  on  the  saddle.  F.  ‘Well,  neighbor,  could  you  do  that?  ’ T.  ‘No:  that  may 
he  worth  a five-penny-bit  to  see,  but  it  is  not  worth  my  half-dollar.’  Mr.  Ricketts  dances  a horn- 
pipe, in  perfect  time,  to  a band  of  music,  the  horse  in  a gallop.  T.  ‘ Oh,  that ’s  better  still ! that’s 
worth  eleven-pence.’  Mr.  Ricketts  leaps  very  high,  and  always  comes  down  on  the  saddle. 
F.  ‘ And  is  not  that  worth  another  eleven-pence  ? ’ T.  ‘ Yes.’  Mr.  Ricketts  rides  two  horses  in 
a gallop,  and  leaps  over  a whip  backward  and  forward  several  times.  T.  ‘ That ’s  three  five- 
penny-bits — my  half-dollar  is  gone.’  Mr.  Ricketts  throws  up  three  oranges,  and  keeps  them  in 
the  air  for  several  turns  round  the  circus,  still  riding  two  horses,  standing  on  the  saddles,  in  full 
gallop ; he  then  jumps  round,  with  his  face  to  the  horses’  tails,  and  performs  the  same  feat. 
F.  ‘ Now  I ’ll  begin  to  reckon : that ’s  a quarter-dollar.’  Mr.  Ricketts  throws  an  orange  very 
high,  and  receives  it  on  the  point  of  a small  sword.  F.  ‘ Another  quarter-dollar.’  Mr.  Ricketts 
hangs  by  one  leg  to  the  saddle,  and  sweeps  the  ground  with  his  hands  and  the  plumes  of  his  cap ; 
then  mounts  on  one  foot,  and  stands  on  the  saddle  in  an  agreeable  posture..  F.  ‘ That ’s  another 
quarter-dollar.’  Mr.  Ricketts  mounts  and  dismounts  a horse  in  a great  variety  of  modes,  leaps 
over  the  horse  in  every  direction,  in  an  astonishing  manner.  F.  ‘ Four  quarter-dollars  is  my 
count.’  Mr.  Ricketts  rides  with  his  head  on  the  saddle,  and  feet  in  the  air,  moving  them  to  the 
music,  whilst  the  horse  is  at  his  speed.  T.  ‘ I must  confess  that  is  well  worth  a quarter-dollar.’ 
Mr.  Ricketts  gallops  a horse,  standing  on  the  saddle,  under  a riband  stretched  from  the  music-box 
to  a pole  erected  in  the  centre  of  the  circus,  twelve  feet  high,  that  is,  nearly  eight  feet  higher  than 
the  saddle ; he  then  leaps  over  the  riband,  and  on  the  saddle,  the  horse  in  rapid  motion.  T.  ‘ Oh  1 
I would  have  given  a half-dollar  to  see  that.  Another  dollar  is  up  of  our  count.’  Iu  short,  Mr. 
T.  and  Mr.  F.  at  last  lost  their  reckoning,  and  came  away  extremely  well  contented : ‘ For,’  said 
Mr.  T.,  ‘upon  a fair  statement  of  accounts  with  Mr.  Ricketts,  agreeably  to  my  own  valuation,  I 
have  come  off  with  three  dollars  clear  profit,  exclusive  of  all  the  feats  I have  seen  performed  of 
which  I did  not  make  any  cash  estimate.’  ” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


377 


On  the  ninth  of  January,  1793,  a Mr.  Blanchard  made  the  first 
balloon  ascension  from  the  United  States,  and  the  President,  with  the 
members  of  the  cabinet,  and  an  immense  company  of  men  and 
women  of  all  ages,  assembled  to  witness  the  departure  of  the  aero- 
naut. It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  French  excitement,  and  a bard 
of  the  Genet  party  addressed  him  in  characteristic  verses : 

“ Grand  Blanchard  lorsque  tu  voleras  dans  les  airs, 

Va  annoncer  aux  pianettes  de  l’uni verse ; 

Que  les  Francois  ont  vaincu  leurs  ennemis  interieurs, 

Leur  intrepidite  a expulce  les  exterieurs : 

Penetre  dans  l’Olimpe,  et  dis  a tous  les  dieux, 

Que  les  Francois  ont  etc  les  victorieux ! 

Prie  Mars  que  les  armes  de  la  France, 

Ne  laisse  aux  tirans  aucune  esperance.”  * 

Wansey  says  that  at  this  period  “Horrowgate  Gardens,  two 
miles  distant,  on  the  New  York  road,  and  Gray’s  Gardens,  on  the 
Schuylkill,  were  the  two  tea-drinking  places  for  the  city,  like  Bag- 
nigge  Wells,  and  the  Islington  Spa,  near  London.” 

III. 

The  United  States  were  visited  during  the  eight  years  of  Wash- 
ington’s administration  by  many  eminent  foreigners,  some  in  official 
capacities,  some  to  observe  the  working  of  our  new  institutions, 
others  in  search  of  the  picturesque,  and  a few  perhaps  who  were 
of  the  class  whom  Sterne  describes  as  “ simple  travellers ; ” but  a 
great  majority  of  the  most  distinguished  were  driven  to  this  coun- 
try by  the  French  revolution.  The  presence  of  these  strangers 
was  advantageous  in  many  respects  ; among  them  were  a consider- 


* “ Great  Blanchard  1 as  you  wing  your  way  toward  the  heavens,  announce  to  all  the  planets 
of  the  universe,  that  Frenchmen  have  conquered  their  interior  enemies,  and  that  those  without 
have  been  repulsed  by  their  intrepidity.  Dart  through  Olympus,  and  tell  the  gods,  that  French- 
men have  been  victorious.  Implore  the  aid  of  Mars,  that  the  arms  of  France  may  crush  the 
ambitious  designs  of  tyrants  for  ever.” 

48 


378 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


able  number  familiar  with  the  practical  details  of  various  govern* 
ments,  and  more  were  high-bred  gentlemen ; they  brought  to  us 
the  ideas  and  manners  of  a splendid  though  wrecked  civilization, 
and  strange  experiences,  fruitful  of  wise  suggestion ; to  our  forming 
society  they  offered  examples  of  courtly  usages,  and  to  the  children 
of  our  wealthier  families,  in  several  instances,  princes  and  nobles  for 
teachers  and  associates.  Upon  our  condition  they  embroidered  much 
of  what  was  most  deserving  our  acceptance  in  the  higher  and  bet- 
ter life  of  the  older  nations. 

The  earliest  of  the  illustrious  exiles  from  France  who  landed 
upon  our  shores  was  Chateaubriand,  a nephew  of  Malesherbes.  He 
arrived  in  New  York  in  1790,  and  after  passing  a few  weeks  here 
and  in  Philadelphia,  ascended  the  Hudson,  and  by  the  great  lakes 
pursued  his  way  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  finally  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific.  To  his  wanderings  among  the  grand  and 
gloomy  forests  of  America  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  most  im- 
pressive and  beautiful  displays  of  his  intelligence.  Here  he  wrote 
“The  Natchez,”  and  conceived  “The  Genius  of  Christianity.”  He 
returned  to  Europe  in  1792. 

Count  Andriani,  of  Milan,  also  visited  the  United  States  in  1790. 
He  was  the  bearer  of  an  ode  addressed  to  Washington  by  Alfieri. 
Andriani  afterward  published  an  abusive  account  of  American 
politics  and  manners,  which  the  President  characterized  in  a letter 
to  Humphreys,  as  “ an  insult  to  the  inhabitants  of  a country  where 
he  received  more  attention  and  civility  than  he  seems  to  merit.” 

On  the  sixth  of  May,  1793,  in  the  ship  which  brought  back  to 
his  native  city  the  celebrated  preacher,  Dr.  Duche,  came  the  Vis- 
count de  Noailles,  a brother-in-law  of  Lafayette,  and  a brave  and 
sagacious  soldier  in  our  own  revolution.  The  same  evening  he  at- 
tended Mrs.  Washington’s  drawing-room,  and  it  was  stated  in  some 
of  the  Jacobin  papers  that  he  remained  closeted  nearly  all  night 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


379 


with  the  President,  as  ambassador  from  the  exiled  princes  at  Co- 
blentz ; but  so  far  was  this  from  being  true  that  he  retired  to  his 
lodgings  at  a very  early  hour,  and  never  saw  his  old  commander 
and  friend  except  in  public,  so  careful  was  the  Chief  not  to  furnish 
any  just  ground  of  complaint  against  his  conduct  by  the  French 
faction.  With  a countryman,  M.  Talon,  the  viscount  bought  lands 
and  projected  a settlement,  to  be  an  asylum  for  the  exiles,  on  the 
Susquehanna ; but  failing  to  receive  expected  funds  from  Europe, 
the  scheme  was  abandoned.  His  means  became  very  limited,  and 
Mr.  Bingham,  with  whom  he  had  been  intimate  in  Paris,  gave  him 
the  use  of  some  third  story  rooms  in  a building  which  stood  at  the 
west  end  of  his  garden,  having  an  entrance  from  Fourth  street. 
Here  on  one  occasion  he  gave  a dinner  to  several  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  who,  while  the  table  was  being  laid,  were  obliged  to  sit 
in  his  sleeping-room,  using  the  bed  for  want  of  chairs.  The  viands 
had  been  cooked  in  Mr.  Bingham’s  kitchen,  and  the  table  was  at- 
tended by  his  servants. 

In  1794  the  three  most  remarkable  Englishmen  in  America  were 
William  Cobbett,  Joseph  Priestley,  and  Thomas  Cooper.  Public 
opinion  is  still  divided  as  to  their  comparative  respectability,  but 
they  were  all  able,  ambitious,  and  persevering.  Cobbett  began 
his  career  in  Philadelphia  as  a writer  of  political  pamphlets,  under 
the  name  of  Peter  Porcupine,  and  soon  after  became  a bookseller, 
at  the  same  time  publishing  a daily  newspaper  under  the  title 
of  Porcupine’s  Gazette.  His  English  was  admirable  for  purity  and 
strength,  and  was  used  most  successfully  in  invective,  of  which  he 
was  a consummate  master.  He  opposed  the  French  interest,  which 
Priestley  and  Cooper  supported.  Hr.  Priestley  was  disappointed  at 
his  reception  in  this  country.  His  fame  as  a philosopher,  a fine 
writer,  and  a political  martyr,  procured  him  only  a few  dinners,  in 
Hew  York,  where  he  landed,  and  in  Philadelphia,  to  which  city  he 


380 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


soon  after  proceeded.  His  son,  who  arrived  in  America  some  time 
before  him,  had  bought  lands  in  Northumberland,  on  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  as  “ it  became  necessary,  even  for  the  preservation  of 
his  celebrity  in  Europe,”  says  the  Duke  de  Liancourt,  “ to  withdraw 
from  a scene  where  his  attempt  to  attract  universal  attention  had 
completely  failed,”  he  retired  to  that  place,  where  he  occupied  him- 
self with  writing  for  the  press,  and  an  extensive  correspondence, 
now  and  then  coming  down  to  Philadelphia  for  a week’s  enjoyment 
of  society.  Dr.  Cooper,  who  had  been  one  of  Priestley’s  intimate 
friends  in  England,  and  in  France  had  been  a partisan  of  Brissot, 
also  settled  in  Northumberland.  Alexander  Baring,  afterward 
Lord  Ashburton,  was  in  Philadelphia  about  the  same  time.  He 
married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Bingham.  The  British  minis- 
ter at  this  period  was  Mr.  George  Hammond,  who  is  described  as 
“ a fine  looking  man,  stout  and  rosy  faced,  wearing  a full  powdered 
wig.”  Oliver  Wolcott  says  he  was  “a  weak,  vain,  and  imprudent 
character,  very  much  in  the  company  and  under  the  influence  of 
sour  and  prejudiced  tories,  who  wished  to  see  the  country  dis- 
graced.” He  married  one  of  the  Misses  Allen,  a girl  of  remark- 
able beauty. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1794  that  the  exiled  Bishop  of  Autun, 
M.  de  Talleyrand,  no  longer  safe  in  England,  sought  a refuge  in  the 
United  States.  He  brought  a letter  to  Washington  from  the  Mar- 
quis of  Lansdowne,  who  commended  him  for  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  conducted  himself  during  his  three  years’  residence  in  London. 
Mrs.  Church,  a daughter  of  General  Schuyler,  and  sister  of  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  gave  him  a letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Breck,  of  Philadel- 
phia. “ I request,”  she  writes,  “ that  MM.  de  Talleyrand  and  de 
Beaumet  may  be  of  the  number  of  those  admitted  to  the  pleasure 
of  your  acquaintance.  Europe  has  seldom  parted  with  persons  of 
more  information,  or  more  inclined  to  appreciate  the  merits  and 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


381 


manners  of  our  countrymen.”  Washington  wrote  to  Lord  Lans- 
downe  at  the  end  of  August,  “ It  is  a matter  of  no  small  regret  to 
me  that  considerations  of  a public  nature,  which  you  will  easily 
conjecture,  have  not  hitherto  permitted  me  to  manifest  towards 
that  gentleman  the  sense  I entertain  of  his  personal  character,  and 
of  your  lordship’s  recommendation ; but  I am  informed  that  the 
reception  he  has  met  with,  in  general,  has  been  such  as  to  console 
him,  as  far  as  the  state  of  society  here  will  admit  of  it,  for  what  he 
has  relinquished  in  leaving  Europe.  Time  must  naturally  be  favor- 
able to  him  every  where,  and  may  be  expected  to  raise  a man  of 
his  merit  above  the  temporary  disadvantages  which  in  revolutions 
result  from  differences  of  political  opinion.”  It  has  been  suggested 
that  this  extraordinary  character  was  a native  of  Mount  Desert,  in 
Maine,  and  some  curious  facts  have  been  adduced  in  support  of 
such  an  opinion.  It  appears  that  he  had  not  been  long  in  the  coun- 
try before  Mr.  Edward  Dobbins,  afterward  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  Massachusetts,  discovered  him  incog,  at  Mount  Desert,  wander- 
ing about  without  any  apparent  motive.  The  older  inhabitants 
of  that  secluded  place  thought  they  recognized  in  him  an  illegiti- 
mate son  of  the  pretty  daughter  of  a fisherman  and  the  captain  of 
a French  national  ship  which  had  been  there  about  the  year  1753. 
The  boy,  they  said,  when  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age,  his  mother 
being  dead,  had  been  taken  away  by  a French  gentleman,  who 
declared  that  he  was  descended  from  a noble  family  in  France. 
We  may  know  about  this  in  1868,  when  the  autobiography  of  the 
prince,  according  to  his  last  injunctions,  will  be  published.  He  be- 
came a citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  his  certificate  of  naturali- 
zation was  for  a long  time  in  Peale’s  Museum.  In  Philadelphia  he 
lived  at  Oeller’s  hotel,  and  in  New  York  at  the  house  which  had 
been  occupied  by  the  President,  at  the  foot  of  Broadway  — in  1794 
a fashionable  boarding-house.  Though  admired  for  his  abilities  he 


382 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


was  hated  for  the  heartlessness  which  he  displayed  in  regard  to  the 
sufferings  of  his  countrymen.  One  cold  day  he  entered  the  draw- 
ing-room, wearing,  as  was  not  unusual  at  that  period,  buckskin  pan- 
taloons, and  took  a position  on  the  hearth,  close  to  the  fire.  The  heat 
soon  caused  the  leather  to  scorch  and  smoke,  and  the  faces  of  the 
company  evinced  the  restraint  of  good  breeding  struggling  against 
a provocation  of  laughter.  Talleyrand’s  quick  eye  penetrated  the 
mask  without  discovering  its  cause,  until  he  seated  himself,  when 
his  sudden  cry  of  pain  compelled  the  women  to  flee  to  other  rooms 
where  they  might  give  vent  to  their  merriment.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance was  as  remarkable  as  his  character  He  was  very  tall, 
and  had  light  hair,  which  he  wore  long  and  parted  in  front ; he  had 
expressive  blue  eyes,  and  a sallow  complexion ; his  mouth  was  wide 
and  coarse ; his  body  large  and  “ protuberant  in  front ; ” his  legs  were 
singularly  small,  and  his  feet  deformed.  His  manner  was  tranquil 
and  watchful,  and  in  some  respects  extremely  vulgar  and  repulsive. 
A woman  at  whose  house,  in  New  York,  he  frequently  dined,  said 
he  would  sometimes  rest  his  elbows  on  the  table,  supporting  his 
face  between  his  hands,  and  carry  on  a conversation  with  his  mouth 
so  full  that  he  could  hardly  speak ; and  he  would  cut  all  the  meat 
on  his  plate  into  small  pieces,  pierce  them  with  his  fork,  until  its 
prongs  were  full,  then  thrust  them  into  his  mouth,  and,  closing  his 
teeth,  pull  out  the  fork,  leaving  all  its  freight  in  his  capacious  jaws. 
It  is  related  by  M.  Brierre  de  Boismont  that  he  came  near  losing 
his  life  in  this  city  by  the  hands  of  his  friend  Beaumet.  In  his 
old  age  the  conversation  in  his  presence  was  one  day  turned  to 
those  instantaneous  warnings  which  some  regard  as  communications 
from  the  invisible  world.  “I  can  never  forget,”  remarked  the 
prince,  “ that  I was  once  gifted,  for  a moment,  with  an  extraordi- 
nary and  inexplicable  prescience,  which  was  the  means  of  saving 
my  life.  Without  that  sudden  and  mysterious  inspiration,  I should 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


383 


not  be  here  to  recount  these  curious  details.  I was  intimately  con- 
nected with  one  of  my  countrymen,  M.  Beaumet.  We  had  always 
lived  on  the  best  terms,  and  in  those  stormy  times,  when  the  expres- 
sion of  friendship  required  almost  a divine  courage,  something  more 
than  friendship  was  needed  to  unite  persons.  I had  no  cause  to 
doubt  his  affection ; on  the  contrary,  he  had  on  several  occasions 
given  the  most  devoted  proofs  of  his  attachment  to  my  person  and 
interests.  We  had  together  quitted  England  to  take  refuge  in 
New  York,  and  had  hitherto  lived  in  perfect  harmony.  Wishing 
to  increase  our  little  capital,  I had  freighted  a ship,  half  shares 
with  him,  to  try  our  fortune  in  the  Indies.  We  were  ready  for  our 
departure,  but  waited  for  a favorable  wind  with  the  greatest  impa- 
tience. This  state  of  uncertainty  appeared  to  sour  poor  Beaumet 
to  a most  extraordinary  degree.  Incapable  of  remaining  quiet,  he 
roamed  the  city  with  a feverish  activity,  which,  for  the  moment, 
excited  my  surprise,  for  he  was  always  remarkable  for  his  calmness 
and  placidity.  One  day  he  entered  the  room,  evidently  under  in- 
tense excitement,  although  he  used  great  efforts  to  restrain  himself. 
I was  writing  letters  to  Europe.  Leaning  over  my  shoulder,  he  said, 
with  a forced  gayety,  ‘ Why  do  you  lose  time  in  writing  these  let- 
ters ? they  will  never  reach  their  destination ; come  with  me,  and 
let  us  make  the  round  of  the  Battery ; the  wind  may  become  favor- 
able; perhaps  we  are  nearer  to  our  departure  than  we  think!’ 
The  day  was  magnificent,  although  the  wind  was  high ; I allowed 
myself  to  be  persuaded.  Beaumet,  as  I afterwards  recollected, 
showed  extraordinary  alacrity  in  closing  my  desk,  arranging  my 
papers,  and  offering  my  hat  and  cane,  which  I attributed  to  the 
need  of  incessant  activity  with  which  he  had  appeared  overwhelmed 
ever  since  our  forced  departure.  We  threaded  the  well-peopled 
streets,  and  reached  the  Battery.  He  had  offered  me  his  arm,  and 
hurried  on  as  if  he  were  in  haste  to  reach  it.  When  we  were  on 


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the  grand  esplanade,  lie  hastened  still  more,  until  we  reached  the 
edge.  He  spoke  loudly  and  rapidly,  and  admired,  hi  energetic 
terms,  the  beauties  of  the  scene.  Suddenly  he  stopped,  in  the 
midst  of  his  disordered  conversation.  I had  disengaged  my  arm 
from  his,  and  stood  firmly  before  him.  I fixed  my  eye  upon  him, 
and  he  moved  aside,  as  if  intimidated  and  ashamed.  4 Beaumet ! ’ 
cried  I,  4 your  intention  is  to  kill  me ; you  mean  to  throw  me  from 
this  height  into  the  sea ! Deny  it,  monster,  if  you  dare  ! ’ The 
insane  man  looked  at  me  intently  with  his  haggard  eyes  for  a mo- 
ment ; but  I was  careful  not  to  remove  my  gaze  from  him,  and  they 
fell.  He  muttered  some  incoherent  words,  and  endeavored  to  pass 
me,  but  I spread  my  arms  and  prevented  him.  Casting  a wild  look 
around,  he  threw  himself  on  my  neck,  and  burst  into  tears.  4 It  is 
true,  it  is  true,  my  friend ! the  thought  has  haunted  me  day  and 
night  like  an  infernal  flame.  It  was  for  that  I brought  you  here ; 
see,  you  are  not  a foot  from  the  precipice ! another  instant,  the  deed 
would  have  been  done ! ’ The  demon  had  abandoned  him ; his  eyes 
were  void  of  expression ; a white  foam  covered  his  parched  lips ; 
the  crisis  had  passed.  I conducted  him  home.  Some  days  of  rest, 
bleeding,  and  dieting,  entirely  cured  him,  and,  what  is  the  most 
singular  circumstance  of  all,  we  never  referred  to  the  occurrence.” 
The  old  minister  was  persuaded  that,  on  that  day,  his  destiny  would 
have  been  decided,  but  for  his  sudden  suspicion  of  Beaumet,  and  he 
never  spoke  on  the  subject  without  the  greatest  emotion. 

M.  Jean  Antoine  Joseph  Fauchet,  afterward  Baron  Fauchet, 
who  succeeded  M.  Genet  as  minister  from  France,  was  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  had  won  some  applause  in  Paris  as  a political  writer, 
but  was  without  any  very  marked  social  characteristics.  John 
Adams  writes,  in  March,  1794:  “He  is  not  quite  so  unreserved  as 
his  predecessor ; he  seems  to  me  to  be  in  great  distress ; he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  galleries  in  the  theatre  with  three  cheers,  but  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


385 


people  have  not  addressed  him  or  made  much  noise  about  him.  At 
the  birth-night  ball  he  was  placed  by  the  managers  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  President,  which  gave  great  offence  to  the  Spanish 
commissioners ; and  it  is  said  Mr.  Hammond  has  left  the  theatre, 
offended  and  disgusted  at  some  popular  distinctions  there.”  He  is 
remembered  in  this  country  chiefly  in  connection  with  his  celebrated 
despatches  respecting  Secretary  Randolph.  He  was  superseded  by 
the  appointment  of  M.  Pierre  Auguste  Adet,  who  arrived  in  Phila- 
delphia in  the  summer  of  179 5.  M.  Adet  was  of  about  the  same 
age,  and  besides  his  successes  in  politics  had  won  consideration  as 
a chemist.  Wolcott  wrote  of  him  to  his  wife,  “He  appears  to  be 
a mild-tempered  and  well-educated  man,  and  no  Jacobin.  Dupont, 
who,  you  know,  was  here  two  years  ago,  is  secretary  to  the  legation. 
Both  he  and  the  minister  have  handsome  wives,  and  this  is  a good 
sign.”  Wolcott  thought  he  would  not  be  violent  or  troublesome  in 
his  relations  with  the  government,  but  he  as  well  as  others  were  in 
this  respect  mistaken. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  1794  the  Due  de  la  Rochefoucauld 
Liancourt,  after  a residence  of  some  fifteen  months  in  England,  ar- 
rived in  Philadelphia,  with  many  letters  of  introduction,  and  pre- 
ceded by  an  honorable  and  distinguished  reputation.  He  was 
about  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  Thiers  describes  him  as  having 
been  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  French  revolution,  when  he  was 
President  of  the  National  Assembly,  alike  eminent  for  his  virtues, 
great  talents,  and  liberal  feelings.  His  immense  estates  had  been 
confiscated,  but  he  possessed  while  in  this  country  an  income  suffi- 
cient for  the  satisfaction  of  his  moderate  desires.  After  remaining 

* 

in  Philadelphia  five  months  he  set  out  on  his  travels,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  next  three  years  visited  nearly  every  state  in  the 
Union.  The  families  with  which  he  was  most  intimate  in  Phila- 
delphia were  those  of  General  Knox  and  Judge  Chew.  After  his 
49 


386 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


return  to  France  he  published  a work  on  the  Prisons  *of  Philadel 
phia,  and  an  account  of  his  residence  in  the  United  States,  in  eight 
volumes. 

Louis  Philippe  d’Orleans,  under  an  assumed  name,  had  taught 
geometry  among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  and,  melancholy, 
gentle,  unassuming,  and  laborious,  had  been  an  object  of  affection- 
ate interest  to  all  his  associates  and  pupils,  none  of  whom  knew  his 
rank  or  even  his  country.  In  1796  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris  enabled 
him  to  come  to  the  United  States,  and  wrote  to  his  correspondents 
in  New  York  giving  the  young  prince  an  unlimited  credit  while  he 
should  reside  or  travel  here.  Louis  Philippe  however  was  too  just 
to  avail  himself  in  any  unnecessary  degree  of  Mr.  Morris’s  gener 
osity,  and  had  been  so  familiar  with  misfortune  as  to  experience 
little  difficulty  in  accommodating  himself  to  an  extremely  modest 
style  of  living.  In  Philadelphia  he  had  a single  room,  over  a bar- 
ber’s shop,  where  he  lodged,  and  on  one  occasion  gave  a dinner,  at 
which  were  present,  besides  two  or  three  exiles,  Mr.  Copley,  after- 
ward Lord  Lyndhurst,  and  several  Americans.  He  apologized  for 
seating  one  half  his  guests  on  the  side  of  a bed : he  “ had  himself 
occupied  less  comfortable  places,  without  the  consolation  of  an 
agreeable  company.”  He  was  now  about  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  above  the  middle  stature,  and  had  a dark  complexion,  sunken 
eyes,  and  a very  dignified  deportment.  He  was  intimate  with  Mr. 
Bingham’s  family,  and  offered  himself  to  one  of  his  daughters.  The 
senator  declined  the  royal  alliance : “ Should  you  ever  be  restored 
to  your  hereditary  position,”  he  said  to  the  duke,  “ you  will  be 
too  great  a match  for  her ; if  not,  she  is  too  great  a match  for 
you.”  In  February,  1797,  he  was  joined  by  his  two  brothers,  the 
Duke  de  Montpensier  and  the  Count  de  Beaujolais,  and  the  three 
princes,  with  a single  servant,  who  had  accompanied  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  ever  since  he  left  Paris,  set  out  on  horseback  to  see  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


387 


interior  of  the  United  States.  They  visited  Washington  at  Mount 
Vernon,  and  after  a tour  through  the  south  returned  by  way  of 
Niagara  Falls  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  under  a necessity 
of  remaining  during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  the  sum- 
mer of  that  year. 

John  Singleton  Copley,  son  of  John  Singleton  Copley  the  paint- 
er, was  born  in  Boston,  and  was  carried  to  England  when  about 
two  years  of  age,  before  the  revolution.  He  was  now  about  twenty- 
four,  and  was  a tranquil  and  quiet  gentleman,  rather  tall  and  thin, 
with  light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  and  courteous  manners.  He  was 
reputed  to  be  a good  scholar,  but  evinced  no  such  distinguished 
abilities  as  would  have  justified  a prophecy  that  he  was  to  become 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  The  Duke  of  Kent,  son  of  George 
the  Third,  and  father  of  Victoria,  was  here  at  the  same  time.  The 
British  minister  who  succeeded  Mr.  Hammond  was  Mr.  Liston. 
He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  the  twelfth  of  May,  1796.  His 
last  diplomatic  service  had  been  at  Constantinople.  Wolcott  de- 
scribes him  as  an  “ amiable,  worthy  man.”  He  was  a Scotchman, 
of  middling  size,  and  wore  a wig  with  side  curls. 

On  the  second  of  April,  1795,  Mrs.  Cushing,*  wife  of  Judge 
Cushing  of  the  Supreme  Court,  writes  from  Philadelphia:  “We 
dined  to-day  with  the  President  and  Mrs.  Washington,  in  company 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hammond,  the  Chevalier  and  Madame  Frere  (who 
is  truly  an  elegant  woman),  Don  Philip  Jaudennes  and  his  lady, 

* I am  indebted  to  the  venerable  and  excellent  Madame  Hammatt,  of  Bangor,  in  Maine  — a 
niece  of  Mrs.  Cushing  — for  the  interesting  MS.  diary  of  that  distinguished  lady,  and  her  corres- 
pondence with  many  of  her  dignified  contemporaries.  Mrs.  Cushing  always  travelled  with  her 
husband,  on  his  official  circuits,  to  take  care  of  him.  Mrs.  Pinckney  writes  to  her  from  Charles- 
ton, under  date  of  July  5,  1795:  “Mr.  Izard  contrived  to  overset  his  chair  and  himself,  on  his 
journey  home,  and  dislocated  his  arm.  He  says  the  accident  would  not  have  happened  if  he  had 
had  Mrs.  Izard  with  him,  and  that  it  was  in  consequence  of  his  thinking  of  politics  instead  of 
the  road.  So  you  see,  my  dear  madam,  in  what  a variety  of  ways  your  travelling  with  Mr.  Cushing 
is  beneficial  to  him.” 


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Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Berckel,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randolph,  Mr.  and  Mrs 
Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pinckney,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coxe.  Madame 
Frere  and  Madame  Jaudennes  were  brilliant  with  diamonds.”  The 
Chevalier  Frere  was  the  Portuguese  minister,  and  his  wife  became 
very  intimate  with  Mrs.  Washington  and  Miss  Custis.  Jaudennes 
was  minister  from  Spain. 

In  June,  1796,  Don  Carlos  Martinez,  Marquis  d’Yrujo,  succeeded 
Jaudennes  as  Spanish  minister.  On  his  arrival  in  this  country  the 
President  was  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  there  the  Marquis  paid  him  a 
visit.  On  the  fourth  of  July  Washington  writes  to  Pickering, 
“M.  d’Yrujo  spent  two  days  with  me,  and  is  just  gone.  I caused 
it  to  be  intimated  to  him  that,  as  I should  be  absent  from  the  seat 
of  government  until  the  middle  or  latter  end  of  August,  I was  ready 
to  receive  his  letter  of  credentials  at  this  place.  He  answered,  as 
I understood  it,  that  his  credentials  were  with  his  baggage  on  its 
passage  to  Philadelphia,  and  that  his  reception  at  that  place,  at  the 
time  mentioned,  would  be  perfectly  agreeable  to  himself.  He  is  a 
young  man,  very  free  and  easy  in  his  manners,  professes  to  be  well 
disposed  towards  the  United  States,  and  as  far  as  a judgment  can 
be  formed  on  so  slight  an  acquaintance,  appears  to  be  well  in- 
formed.” He  married  Sally  McKean,  a daughter  of  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  Pennsylvania.  She  was  considered  a great  beauty.  D’Yrujo 
was  afterward  conspicuous  in  Spanish  affairs,  and  his  son,  the  Duke 
of  Sotomayer,  born  in  Philadelphia,  became  Prime  Minister.  Phil- 
adelphia furnished  wives  for  the  envoys  of  France,  England  and 
Spain,  during  Washington’s  administration,  and  a large  number  of 
foreign  ministers  have  since  been  married  to  American  women. 

Volney,  the  infidel  traveller  and  essayist,  with  the  littleness, 
malice,  and  insolence  which  have  almost  invariably  marked  the 
class  of  thinkers  to  which  he  belonged,  inflated  by  what  he  calls 
the  “splendid  success”  of  his  book  on  the  East,  and  continually 


imm 
of  im 

UMIVEKSnr  Ut  lUffHJIS 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


389 


piqued  at  the  flattering  accounts  of  the  rising  glory  of  America  by 
other  writers,  determined  to  apply  his  sagacity  to  their  delusions, 
and  “reduce  their  exaggerated  and  glowing  descriptions  to  the 
standard  of  common  sense.”  While  he  was  in  Philadelphia  Stuart 
painted  his  portrait.  He  had  a peculiarly  French  physiognomy, 
with  high  forehead,  blue  eyes,  small  mouth,  invariably  a querulous 
and  sneering  expression,  and  was  tall,  straight,  and  well  formed. 
He  asked  Washington  (of  whose  abilities  he  says,  “they  would  not 
have  raised  him  above  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  French  service,”) 
to  give  him  letters  of  introduction,  to  be  used  on  his  excursions 
through  the  states,  and  the  Chief  wrote,  “ C.  Yolney  needs  no  recom- 
mendation from  George  Washington.” 

Of  Erick  Bollmann  John  Adams  wrote  to  his  daughter,  in  1796, 
“ Hr.  Bollmann  has  called  on  me,  and,  with  an  extravagant  character 
for  knowledge  and  capacity,  he  appears  to  be  an  adventurer,  with 
little  judgment  or  solidity.”  Hamilton  says  of  him  in  a letter  to 
Washington,  after  alluding  to  his  attempt  to  liberate  Lafayette, 
“ He  appears  to  have  been  induced  to  think  that  he  attempted  a 
service  which  would  strongly  recommend  him  to  the  favor  of  this 
country,  and  as  a consequence  of  it  he  hopes  for  some  civil  employ- 
ment under  our  government.  He  seems  to  be  a man  of  education, 
speaks  several  languages,  converses  sensibly,  is  of  polite  manners^ 
and  I dare  say  has  the  materials  of  future  advancement.” 

Kosciusko,  and  his  young  friend  and  countryman  the  poet  Mem- 
cewicz,  came  to  this  country  about  the  period  of  the  end  of  Wash- 
ington’s administration.  The  Duke  de  Liancourt  saw  them  at  the 
house  of  General  Gates.  “Simple  and  modest,”  says  the  duke, 
“ Kosciusko  even  shed  tears  of  gratitude,  and  seems  astonished  at 
the  homage  he  receives.  He  sees  a brother  in  every  man  who  is 
the  friend  of  liberty.  Elevation  of  sentiment,  grandeur,  sweetness, 
force  goodness,  all  that  commands  respect  and  honor,  appear  to  me 


390 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


to  be  concentrated  in  this  celebrated  and  interesting  victim  of  mis- 
fortune and  despotism.  And  Niemcewicz  is,  from  bis  noble  senti- 
ments, the  agreeableness  of  bis  manners,  and  tbe  extent  of  bis 
knowledge,  a person  peculiarly  interesting.” 

* IY. 

No  circumstances  during  bis  entire  administration  caused  Wash- 
ington more  painful  anxiety  than  tbe  imprisonment  of  Lafayette, 
for  whom  be  felt  a most  fraternal  affection  and  tbe  sincerest  respect. 
Witb  Prussia  and  Austria,  in  wbicb  countries  bis  friend  was  succes- 
sively a prisoner,  tbe  United  States  bad  then  no  diplomatic  inter- 
course, and  it  was  not  possible  therefore  for  the  President  to  exer- 
cise in  bis  behalf  any  more  than  a personal  influence,  and  this  was 
found  altogether  unavaihng.  When,  in  1795,  tbe  wife  and  daugh- 
ters of  Lafayette  left  France  to  join  him  at  Olmutz,  bis  son,  George 
Washington  Lafayette,  came  to  America,  where  be  remained  nearly 
two  years.  Witb  bis  tutor,  M.  Frestel,  be  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
in  April,  1796,  and  tbe  President  immediately  afterward  invited  a 
few  friends  to  meet  them  at  dinner.  One  of  these,  Mr.  Adams, 
availed  himself  of  tbe  opportunity  to  request  them  to  come  witb 
Mr.  Lear  tbe  next  morning  and  breakfast  witb  him.  Washington 
beard  of  tbe  invitation,  in  tbe  evening,  and  sent  Mr.  Lear  to  advise 
witb  tbe  Vice  President  whether  it  would  be  proper  for  tbe  youth, 
in  tbe  existing  circumstances  of  bis  father,  mother,  and  whole  fam- 
ily, to  mingle  in  society ; and  be  was  excused.  It  was,  perhaps, 
because  a delicate  sense  of  propriety  induced  him  to  withdraw  bis 
ward  as  much  as  possible  from  an  unbecoming  publicity,  that  tbe 
democratic  journals  assailed  him  witb  tbe  calumny  of  inhospitality 
toward  tbe  son  of  one  to  whom  tbe  nation  was  so  greatly  indebted. 

Mr.  Richard  Rush  relates  a very  interesting  incident  illustrative 
of  the  feelings  of  Washington  in  regard  to  tbe  misfortunes  of  bis 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


391 


old  companion  in  arms.  Mr.  Bradford  lived  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  street,  next  to  Dr.  Binney’s,  and  the  two  families  were  united 
by  an  affectionate  intimacy.  One  evening  when  he  happened  to 
be  at  the  President’s,  and  no  one  else  was  there  except  the  family 
circle,  consisting  of  the  General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  one  of  the 
private  secretaries,  and  young  Custis  and  his  sisters,  the  conver- 
sation reverted  to  the  prisoner  at  Olmutz,  and  the  Chief  con- 
trasted his  present  unhappy  circumstances  with  his  former  splendid 
career,  dwelling  upon  his  sufferings  until  the  warmth  of  their  an- 
cient friendship  was  reawakened,  and  he  became  deeply  affected,  his 
eyes  suffused,  his  noble  features  discomposed,  and  his  whole  nature 
shaken.  Mr.  Bradford  saw  it ; “ and  what  a spectacle,”  says  Mr. 
Rush,  “ to  be  witnessed  by  a man  whose  own  bosom  was  open  to 
the  heavings  of  patriotism  and  every  other  generous  impulse ! If 
the  great  Conde,  at  the  representation  of  one  of  Corneille’s  trage- 
dies, shed  tears  at  the  part  where  Caesar  is  made  to  utter  a fine  sen- 
timent, what  was  that,  in  its  power  to  stir  the  soul,  though  Voltaire 
has  so  emblazoned  it,  to  tears  shed  by  Washington  over  the  real 
woes  of  Lafayette  ! Washington,  a nation’s  founder,  and  Lafay- 
ette, his  heroic  friend,  who  had  crossed  an  ocean  to  fight  the  bat- 
tles of  liberty  by  his  side  ! Magnanimous  tears  they  were,  fit  for 
the  first  of  heroes  to  have  shed ! virtuous,  honorable,  sanctified  ! ” 
Returning  to  his  own  house,  profoundly  moved  by  the  scene  he  had 
just  witnessed,  Mr.  Bradford  sat  down  and  wrote  the  following 
simple  but  touching  verses,  an  impromptu  effusion  from  the  heart 
of  a man  of  sensibility  and  genius  : 

THE  LAMENT  OF  WASHINGTON. 

As  beside  his  cheerful  fire, 

’Midst  his  happy  family, 

Sat  a venerable  sire, 

Tears  were  starting  in  his  eye , 

Selfish  blessings  were  forgot, 

Whilst  he  thought  on  Fayette’s  lot. 


292 


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Once  so  happy  on  our  plains  — 

Now  in  poverty  and  chains. 

“ Fayette,”  cried  he  — “ honored  name ! 
Dear  to  these  far  distant  shores  — 
Fayette,  fired  by  freedom’s  flame, 

Bled  to  make  that  freedom  ours. 

What,  alas ! for  this  remains  — 

What,  but  poverty  and  chains  ! 

“ Soldiers,  in  our  fields  of  death — 

Was  not  Fayette  foremost  there  ? 

Cold  and  shivering  on  the  heath, 

Did  you  not  his  bounty  share  ? 

What  reward  for  this  remains, 

What,  but  poverty  and  chains ! 

“ Hapless  Fayette  ! ’midst  thine  error. 

How  my  soul  thy  worth  reveres ! 

Son  of  freedom,  tyrant’s  terror, 

Hero  of  both  hemispheres  ! 

What  reward  for  all  remains, 

What,  but  poverty  and  chains  ! 

“ Born  to  honors,  ease,  and  wealth, 

See  him  sacrifice  them  all ; 

Sacrificing  also  health, 

At  his  country’s  glorious  call. 

What  for  thee,  my  friend,  remains, 

What,  but  poverty  and  chains  ! 

“ Thus,  with  laurels  on  his  brow, 

Belisarius  begged  for  bread  ; 

Thus,  from  Carthage  forced  to  go, 
Hannibal  an  exile  fled. 

Alas  ! Fayette  at  once  sustains, 

Exile,  Poverty,  and  Chains  ! ” 

Courage,  child  of  Washington ! 

Though  thy  fate  disastrous  seems, 

We  have  seen  the  setting  sun 
Rise  and  burn  with  brighter  beams. 

Thy  country  soon  shall  break  thy  chain, 
And  take  thee  to  her  arms  again. 

Thy  country  soon  shall  break  thy  chain, 
And  take  thee  to  her  arms  again ! 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


393 


These  verses  were  not  written  for  publication  or  criticism,  and 
are  not  to  be  received  as  an  example  of  Mr.  Bradford’s  poetical 
abilities,  but  private  copies  of  them  were  circulated,  and  they  were 
sometimes  sung  to  a plaintive  air  composed  on  the  execution  of 
Marie  Antoinette,  which  was  current  in  Philadelphia  after  that 
melancholy  tragedy. 

y. 

Among  the  women  most  intimate  with  Mrs.  Washington,  Mr. 
Custis  mentions  in  a recent  letter  to  me,  besides  Mrs.  Hamilton,  Mrs. 
Knox,  Mrs.  Stewart,  Mrs.  Morris,  Mrs.  Powell,  and  others  who  have 
been  frequently  referred  to  in  these  pages,  Mrs.  Bradford,  Mrs. 
Otis,  and  Miss  Boss.  “ Mrs.  Knox,”  says  the  Duke  de  la  Koche- 
foucauld  Liancourt,  “ is  a lady  of  whom  you  conceive  a still  higher 
opinion  the  longer  you  are  acquainted  with  her.  Seeing  her  in 
Philadelphia  you  think  of  her  only  as  a fortunate  player  at  whist ; 
at  her  house  in  the  country  you  discover  that  she  possesses  spright- 
liness, knowledge,  a good  heart,  and  an  excellent  understanding.” 
Of  her  daughter  he  tells  us,  that  at  their  home  in  Maine  “ she  lays 
aside  her  excessive  timidity,  and  you  admire  alike  her  beauty,  wit, 
and  cheerfulness  ; ” and  of  the  General,  “ he  is  one  of  the  worthiest 
men  I have  ever  known — lively,  agreeable,  valuable  equally  as 
an  excellent  friend  and  as  an  engaging  companion.”  Mrs.  Otis  was 
the  wife  of  the  secretary  of  the  senate,  and  mother  of  the  great  ora- 
tor, Harrison  Gray  Otis,  who  was  married  in  Boston  on  the  fifteenth 
of  May,  1790,  to  Sally  Foster,  daughter  of  a merchant  of  that  city, 
at  that  time  a few  weeks  over  twenty  years  of  age.  Mr.  Otis  was 
not  elected  to  Congress  until  the  retirement  of  Fisher  Ames,  in 
1797  ; but,  with  his  youthful  wife,  remarkable  for  beauty  and  wit, 
as  well  as  for  an  intellectual  vivacity,  tempered  always  by  an  in- 
describable grace,  he  was  much  in  metropolitan  society  during  the 
50 


394 


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entire  period  of  Washington’s  administration.  Mrs.  Stewart  was 
the  wife  of  General  Walter  Stewart,  who  lived  in  the  house  next  to 
the  President’s,  toward  Fifth  street.  Miss  Ross  was  the  beautiful 
daughter  of  Mr.  James  Ross  of  Pittsburg,  one  of  the  senators  rep- 
resenting the  State  of  Pennsylvania  Mrs.  Bradford*  was  the  only 

* “ Tlie  widow  of  Mr.  Bradford,”  writes  Mr.  Richard  Rush,  “ still  lives  in  an  ancient  town  on 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  a beautiful  relict  of  the  days  here  recalled ; her  house  the  abode  of 
hospitality  as  abundant  as  it  is  cordial  and  elegant ; and  fourscore  years  and  more  not  having 
impaired  the  courtesy,  the  grace,  the  habitual  suavity  and  kindness,  or  even  that  disciplined 
carriage  of  the  person,  all  made  part  of  her  nature  by  her  early  intercourse  and  the  school  in 
which  she  was  reared ; for  if  Portia,  speaking  of  herself  as  Cato’s  daughter  and  wife  of  Brutus, 
could  exclaim,  ‘ Think  you  I am  no  stronger  than  my  sex,  being  so  fathered  and  so  husbanded ! ’ 
it  may  be  permitted  us  to  say  of  this  venerable  relict,  once  of  the  Washington  circle,  and  being 
‘ fathered  and  husbanded  ’ as  we  have  also  seen,  she  could  not  be  other  than  she  is.”  The  late 
Mrs.  Susan  Wallace,  whose  husband,  Mr.  John  Bradford  Wallace,  was  a nephew  of  Mr.  Bradford, 
described  her,  many  years  after  the  events  referred  to  in  the  text,  in  the  following  extract  which 
I am  permitted  to  make  from  her  diary:  “Mrs.  Bradford,  one  of  my  guests,  is  a remarkable 
woman,  one  of  the  finest  models  of  mild  and  courtly  dignity  this  country,  or  any  other  indeed, 
can  exhibit.  Accustomed  from  childhood  to  the  best  society  — the  only  child  of  most  respectable 
parents,  of  family  rank  — offices  of  trust  and  honor  were  numerous  and  common  to  her  intimate 
connexions ; and  her  happy  and  much  caressed  girlhood  was  passed  in  an  intercourse  with  per- 
sons long  since  the  boast  of  the  brightest  days  of  American  refinement  and  patriotism.  She  in- 
termarried with  William  Bradford,  a man  whose  character  combined  almost  every  virtue,  talent, 
and  accomplishment.  With  him  she  commanded  a sphere  of  extensive  influence,  the  just  desert 
of  their  united  excellencies,  and  lived,  as  I have  heard  her  say,  for  more  than  ten  years  in  the 
full  possession  of  every  earthly  enjoyment.  Well  for  them  they  lived  as  Christian  persons  ought 
to  live,  in  constant  remembrance  of  their  accountability  to  God!  for  in  the  height  of  eminent 
distinction,  of  official  station,  of  favor  with  the  first  men  and  women  of  the  country,  and  in  pos- 
session of  domestic  joy  and  peace — in  the  moment  when  they  thought  not  of  interruption  or 
disappointment  — their  well-planned  schemes  of  happiness  were  laid  in  the  dust.  A fever  at- 
tacked Mr.  Bradford,  and  a few  days  terminated  his  life.  Ilis  tender  and  devoted  wife  was  over- 
whelmed with  the  agonies  of  grief,  and  her  kind  parents  long  essayed  in  vain  to  restore  her  to 
composure  and  to  social  intercourse.  Time,  at  last,  in  connection  with  religious  influences,  did 
its  work  in  lessening  the  destructive  ravages  of  sorrow,  and  for  many  years  past  Mrs.  Bradford 
has  maintained  a position  of  useful  and  elegant  hospitality  to  her  numerous  relatives,  and  her 
' warm  and  affectionate  friends.  She  is  now  in  the  vale  of  years,  but  it  is  neither  rough  nor  dark. 
Her  beneficence,  urbanity,  and  social  sweetness,  shed  a temperate  light  over  all  her  paths,  and 
are  gently  smoothing  the  downward  road  that  is  to  be  closed  on  life,  and  opened,  I trust,  to  im- 
mortal peace  and  joy.  No  one  I believe  can  anticipate  the  near  approach  of  death  with  calm- 
ness but  those  who  envelop  themselves  with  the  illusions  of  sensible  imagery,  or  that  small  and 
highly-privileged  class,  who,  by  repentance  and  faith,  have  made  themselves  acquainted  with 
the  gracious  promises  of  their  blessed  Saviour,  and  rest  their  anxious,  trembling  spirits  on  His 
everlasting  arms.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


395 


child  of  Elias  Boudinpt,  one  of  tlie  most  respectable  characters  of 
the  revolution,  and  she  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  Charles  Carroll, 
the  younger,  I believe  are  the  only  ladies  of  our  Bepublican  Court 
now  living.  Mrs.  Carroll  was  one  of  the  daughters  of  Benjamin 
Chew.  She  was  not  married  until  after  Washington’s  final  retire- 
ment to  Mount  Yernon,  but  she  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Henry  Philips, 
were  great  favorites  with  the  Chief,  and  were  much  in  his  society 
as  girls.  The  marriage  of  an  elder  sister,  to  Colonel  John  Eager 
Howard,  of  Baltimore,  was  attended  by  him  at  Chew’s  baronial 
house  in  Germantown  during  the  sittings  of  the  Federal  Conven- 
tion in  1787.  Mrs.  Howard  came  back  to  reside  in  Philadelphia 
in  1796,  when  her  husband  entered  Congress  as  a senator  from 
Maryland. 

Dolly  Payne,  born  in  North  Carolina,  had  been  educated  ac- 
cording to  the  strictest  rules  of  the  Quakers,  in  Philadelphia,  where 
at  an  early  age  she  married  a young  lawyer  of  this  sect,  named 
Todd ; but  becoming  a widow  she  threw  off  drab  silks  and  plain 
laces,  and  was  for  several  years  one  of  the  gayest  and  most  fasci- 
nating women  of  the  city.  She  had  many  lovers,  but  she  gave  the 
preference  to  Mr.  Madison,  and  became  his  wife  in  1794. 

Among  the  accomplished  and  fashionable  men  who  were  at  this 
period  in  public  life  were  Kobert  Goodloe  Harper,  a son-in-law  of 
Charles  Carroll  the  elder,  and  William  Smith,  of  Charleston,  who 
married  a sister  of  John  Butledge.  They  were  conspicuous  mem- 
bers of  the  Federal  party,  and  had  great  influence  in  Congress. 
Aaron  Burr,  who  was  now  a senator,  lived  in  style,  and  gave  ele- 
gant entertainment^  but  his  associates  were  chiefly  politicians. 
Adams  mentions  dining  with  him,  and  in  another  letter,  written 
about  the  same  time,  says : “ Yesterday  I dined  at  Mr.  Morris’s, 
where  hospitality  is  always  precious.  A company  of  venerable  old 
rakes,  threescore  years  of  age,  or  a little  over  or  a little  under,  sat 


396 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


smoking  cigars,  drinking  Burgundy  and  Madeira,  and  talking  poli- 
tics, till  almost  eleven  o’clock.  This  will  do  once  in  a great  while ; 
not  often,  for  me.” 

Mr.  Jefferson  also  kept  a liberal  table  for  his  friends,  and  we 
have  an  account  of  one  of  his  dinners,  from  the  pen  of  Colonel 
Trumbull.  The  artist  had  been  on  terms  of  confidence  with  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson, in  Europe,  and  continued  to  be  so  for  some  time  after  his 
return  to  America,  so  that,  he  says,  “ when  the  first  mission  to  the 
states  of  Barbary  was  determined  on,  it  was  through  him  offered  to 
me,  and  declined ; but  as  the  French  revolution  advanced,  my  whole 
soul  revolted  from  its  atrocities,  while  he  approved  of  all,  or  apol- 
ogized for  all;  he  opposed  Washington;  I revered  him;  and  a 
coldness  gradually  succeeded  until,  in  1793,  he  invited  me  to  dine. 
A few  days  before,  I had  offended  his  friend,  Mr.  Giles,  a senator 
from  Virginia,  by  rendering  him  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  a lady  * 
to  whose  favorable  opinion  he  aspired.  On  entering  the  drawing- 
room at  Mr.  Jefferson’s,  on  the  day  of  the  dinner,  I found  a part 
of  the  company  already  assembled,  among  them  Mr.  Giles ; and  I 
was  scarcely  seated,  when  he  began  to  rally  me  on  the  puritanical 

* “ Among  many  elegant  families  which  at  that  time  graced  the  society  of  Philadelphia,  was 
one  particularly  distinguished  by  the  intellectual  eminence  and  personal  charms  of  several  lovely 
daughters ; to  one  of  these  Mr.  Giles  was  disposed  to  recommend  himself.  At  the  same  time  I 
was  free  of  the  tea-table,  and  calling  one  afternoon  to  beg  a cup  of  tea,  I found  Mr.  Giles  in 
earnest  conversation  with  his  favorite,  and  ridiculing  the  elder  Mr.  Adams,  and  his  work,  called 
the  Defence  of  the  American  Constitutions.  A moment’s  attention  convinced  me  that  he  was 
talking  at  random,  of  a subject  which  he  did  not  understand.  I therefore  watched  an  opportu- 
nity to  interrupt  the  conversation,  by  asking,  ‘ Mr.  Giles,  is  it  possible  that  you  can  have  taken 
the  trouble  to  read  the  long  work  of  which  you  are  speaking  ? ’ ‘ Certainly.’  ‘ The  first  volume 

perhaps?’  ‘To  be  sure.’  ‘And  the  second?’  ‘Yes.’  ‘You  must  have  observed,  then,  that 
these  two  volumes  are  little  else  than  a concise  epitome  of  the  constitutions  of  preceding  repub- 
lics. lie  reserves  his  own  opinions  in  a great  measure  for  the  third  volume ; I presume  you  have 
read  that  also  ? ’ Here  Mr.  Giles  lost  his  patience,  and  exclaimed,  ‘ Who  could  wade  through  such 
a mass  of  stuff?  ’ I said  no  more;  but  the  lady,  with  one  of  her  sweetest  smiles,  said,  ‘I  have 
observed,  Mr.  Giles,  that  you  have  a habit  of  giving  your  opinions  of  men  and  things  in  pretty 
Btrong  terms ; I hope  you  are  careful  always  to  be  as  accurately  informed  upon  other  subjects  as 
you  appear  to  be  upon  this  of  Mr.  Adams’s  book.’  ” — Trumbull's  Memoirs 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


89V 


ancestry  and  character  of  New  England.  I saw  there  was  no  other 
person  from  New  England  present,  and  therefore,  although  con- 
scious that  I was  in  no  degree  qualified  to  manage  a religious  dis- 
cussion, I felt  myself  hound  to  defend  my  country  on  this  delicate 
point  as  well  as  I could.  Whether  it  had  heen  pre-arranged  that 
a debate  on  the  Christian  religion,  in  which  it  should  be  power- 
fully ridiculed  on  the  one  side,  and  weakly  defended  on  the  other, 
was  to  be  brought  forward,  as  promising  amusement  to  a rather  free- 
thinking  dinner  party,  I will  not  presume  to  say ; but  it  had  that  ap- 
pearance, and  Mr.  Giles  pushed  his  raillery,  to  my  no  small  annoy- 
ance, if  not  to  my  discomfiture,  until  dinner  was  announced.  That, 
I hoped,  would  relieve  me,  by  giving  a new  turn  to  the  conversa- 
tion ; but  the  company  was  hardly  seated  at  table,  when  he  renewed 
his  assault  with  increased  asperity,  and  proceeded  so  far,  at  last,  as 
to  ridicule  the  character,  conduct  and  doctrines  of  the  divine  Founder 
of  our  religion  — Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  mean  time,  smiling  and  nod- 
ding approbation  on  Mr.  Giles,  while  the  rest  of  the  company  si- 
lently left  me  and  my  defence  to  our  fate,  until,  at  length,  my  friend 
David  Franks  took  up  the  argument  on  my  side.  Thinking  this  a 
fair  opportunity  for  evading  further  conversation  on  the  subject,  I 
turned  to  Mr.  Jefferson  and  said,  ‘ Sir,  this  is  a strange  situation  in 
which  I find  myself;  in  a country  professing  Christianity,  and  at  a 
table  with  Christians,  as  I supposed,  I find  my  religion  and  myself 
attacked  with  severe  and  almost  irresistible  wit  and  raillery,  and 
not  a person  to  aid  in  my  defence,  but  my  friend  Mr.  Franks,  who 
is  himself  a Jew.’  For  a moment  this  attempt  to  parry  the  discus- 
sion appeared  to  have  some  effect ; but  Giles  soon  returned  to  the 
attack  with  renewed  virulence,  and  burst  out  with,  ‘ It  is  all  misera- 
ble delusion  and  priestcraft ; I do  not  believe  one  word  of  all  they 
say  about  a future  state  of  existence,  and  retribution  for  actions 
done  here ; I do  not  believe  one  word  of  a Supreme  Being  who 


398 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


takes  cognizance  of  the  paltry  affairs  of  this  world,  and  to  whom 
we  are  responsible  for  what  we  do.’  I bad  never  before  beard,  or 
seen  in  writing,  sncb  a broad  and  unqualified  avowal  of  atheism. 
I was  at  first  shocked,  and  remained  a moment  silent ; but  soon 
rallied  and  replied,  ‘ Mr.  Giles,  I admire  your  frankness,  and  it  is 
but  just  that  I should  be  equally  frank  in  avowing  my  sentiments. 
Sir,  in  my  opinion,  the  man  who  can  with  sincerity  make  the  de- 
claration which  you  have  just  made,  is  perfectly  prepared  for  the 
commission  of  any  atrocious  action  by  which  he  can  promise  him- 
self the  advancement  of  his  own  interest,  or  the  gratification  of 
his  impure  passions,  provided  he  can  commit  it  secretly  and  with 
a reasonable  probability  of  escaping  detection  by  his  fellow  men. 
Sir,  I would  not  trust  such  a man  with  the  honor  of  a wife,  a sis- 
ter, or  a daughter,  with  my  own  purse  or  reputation,  or  with  any 
thing  which  I thought  valuable.  Our  acquaintance,  sir,  is  at  an 
end.’  I rose  and  left  the  company,  and  never  after  spoke  to  Mr. 
Giles.  I have  thought  it  proper  to  relate  this  conversation,  as  hew- 
ing to  elucidate  the  character  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  on  the  disputed  point 
of  want  of  credulity,  as  he  would  call  it.  In  nodding  and  smiling 
assent  to  all  the  virulence  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Giles,  he  appeared  to 
me  to  avow  most  distinctly  his  entire  approbation.  From  this  time 
my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Jefferson  became  cold  and  distant.” 

\ VL 

At  the  houses  of  the  principal  federalists  connected  with  the 
government  there  was  a very  different  style  of  conversation ; re- 
ligion was  treated  with  reverence ; the  instructions  of  the  past  were 
received  with  humility,  and  visions  of  the  future  were  seen  through 
the  softening  light  of  experience.  The  New  Englanders  clustered 
about  the  home  of  Wolcott.  The  late  Judge  Hopkinson,  as  well 
known  for  his  “ Hail  Columbia ! ” as  the  elder  Judge  Hopkinson,  his 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


399 


father,  for  the  “ Battle  of  the  Kegs,”  was  then  a young  man,  and 
in  one  of  his  later  letters  he  recalls  the  circle  of  Wolcott’s  associ- 
ates. “ During  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,”  he  says,  “ the  division 
of  political  parties  in  their  social  intercourse  was  more  decided  than 
it  has  ever  been  since ; his  associations  therefore  were  almost  exclu- 
sively with  the  federal  members  of  the  administration  and  of  Con- 
gress, together  with  families  residing  in  the  city,  of  the  same  poli- 
tics, which  then  certainly  constituted  the  best  society.  In  his  parlor 
of  an  evening  you  would  meet  more  or  less  company  of  that  de- 
scription. Leading  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, especially  from  New  England,  were  habitually  there,  and 
sometimes  at  my  house.  When  I mention  such  names  as  Ellsworth, 
Ames,  Griswold,  Goodrich,  and  Tracy,  you  may  imagine  what  a rich 
intellectual  society  it  was.  I will  not  say  that  we  have  no  such 
men  now,  but  I do  not  know  where  they  are.”  Of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  himself,  Hopkinson  says,  “ He  was  a man  of  cheer- 
ful and  even  of  a playful  disposition.  His  conversation  was  inter- 
esting and  earnest,  but  gay,  unless  the  occasion  was  unfit  for  gayety. 
He  enjoyed  a good  joke,  and  his  laugh  was  hearty  and  frequent. 
He  delighted  in  the  discussion  of  literary  subjects  and  the  works 
of  distinguished  authors,  and  was  particularly  fond  of  poetry.  In- 
deed in  his  younger  days  I have  understood  that  he  was  a poet. 
He  had  a good  taste  in  literature  with  one  exception,  about  which 
we  often  disputed,  and  in  which  his  New  England  attachments  or 
prejudices  controlled  his  judgment ; he  had  an  excessive  admiration 
of  Dwight’s  1 Conquest  of  Canaan.’  His  domestic  life  was  most  ex- 
emplary ; his  greatest  happiness  was  in  his  family,  with  the  friends 
who  congregated  at  his  residence.  His  devotion  to  the  business 
and  duties  6f  his  office  was  severe  and  unremitting.  He  possessed 
in  a high  degree  a very  rare  qualification — the  capacity  for  con- 
tinued hard  work — and  was  in  every  thing  systematic  and  orderly 


400 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


His  attachments  to  his  friends  were  strong  and  lasting,  never  taxing 
them  with  unreasonable  exactions  or  subjecting  them  to  unpleasant 
caprices.  He  was  open  and  direct  in  all  his  dealings,  without  du- 
plicity or  intrigue  in  any  thing ; his  sincerity  was  sure,  he  deceived 
nobody.”  Wolcott’s  youngest  sister  I have  already  had  occasion  to 
mention  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  beauties  of  her  time.  She 
was  afterward  married  to  Chauncey  Goodrich,  a man  of  eminent 
abilities  and  the  highest  character.  His  wife  had  less  beauty,  but 
a countenance  of  much  loveliness,  and  very  graceful  manners ; and 
there  were  few  women  who  could  be  compared  with  her  for  refined 
cultivation  and  intelligence.  An  anecdote  referring  to  her  is  re- 
corded as  an  illustration  of  the  wit  of  Mr.  Tracy,  one  of  the  Con- 
necticut senators.  As  she  was  moving  with  her  accustomed  ease  and 
dignity  through  a dance,  her  figure  arrested  the  attention  of  Mr. 
Liston,  the  British  minister,  who  exclaimed,  turning  to  Tracy, 
“Your  countrywoman,  Mrs.  Wolcott,  would  be  admired  even  at 
St.  James’s.”  “Sir,”  replied  the  senator,  “she  is  admired  even  on 
Litchfield  Hill ! ” 

On  one  occasion  Dr.  Dwight  visited  Philadelphia,  and  was  for 
several  days  a guest  of  the  Wolcotts.  In  a letter  to  the  secretary 
he  says,  “ I thank  you,  with  much  affection,  for  the  uniform  sincer- 
ity and  hospitality  which  I found  at  your  house ; assure  Mrs.  Wol- 
cott of  the  grateful  sense  I shall  ever  entertain  of  the  very  polite 
and  friendly  manner  in  which  she  rendered  my  residence  there  pe- 
culiarly agreeable.” 

Josiah  Quincy,  who  still  survives,  one  of  the  brightest  orna- 
ments of  a departed  age,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  reverent  homage 
of  our  own,  was  also  among  the  visitors  of  this  respectable  circle. 
Mrs.  Adams,  referring  to  his  arrival  in  the  city,  writes,  “ This  young 
man  is  a rare  instance  of  hereditary  eloquence  and  ingenuity,  in 
the  fourth  generation.  He  comes  into  life  with  every  advantage 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


401 


of  family,  fortune,  and  education,  and  I wish  him  all  the  success 
which  such  auguries  naturally  present  to  him  in  prospect.  I yes- 
terday, in  the  presence  of  half  a dozen  senators,  laughingly  ad- 
vised him  to  go  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Washington  and  ask 
their  leave  to  make  his  addresses  to  Nelly  Custis,  or  her  sister,  at 
Georgetown.  The  young  gentleman  blushed,  and  he  may  have 
left  his  heart  in  Boston;  but  I think  him  the  first  match  in  the 
United  States.” 

An  intimate  friend  of  Wolcott,  Ames,  Sedgwick,  and  other  New 
England  statesmen,  was  Jeremiah  Smith,  then  a member  of  Con- 
gress, and  afterward  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
Chief  Justice  of  New  Hampshire.  He  dressed  very  carefully,  had 
an  intelligent  and  handsome  face,  and  was  a great  beau  ; but  was 
at  the  same  time  diligent  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  “a 
devourer  of  all  good  books.”  He  had  been  in  love  so  many  times 
that  it  would  have  tasked  his  patience  to  give  a list  of  the  girls  he 
had  been  inclined  to  woo,  and  every  year  some  new  one  was  the 
fairest  and  the  dearest.  In  1T93  he  writes  : “It  seems  to  me  now 
that  I never  sincerely  loved  before.  God  grant  that  time  and  ab- 
sence may  have  their  usual  effects .”  His  prayer  was  granted,  and 
in  1795  he  discloses  another  flame  to  his  friend  Fletcher.  “Tell 
Mrs.  Fletcher,”  he  says,  “ that  I should  have  been  very  happy  to 
have  made  one  of  your  little  family  party  at  Christmas,  and  that  I 
am  confident  she  enjoyed  far  more  pleasure,  surrounded  by  her 
children  and  friends,  than  Mrs.  Dexter  at  Mr.  Bingham’s  or  Mr. 
Morris’s  or  even  the  President’s  sumptuous  dinner.  I was  singularly 
happy  on  that  day  myself ; I dined  with  a number  of  my  friends 
at  Mr.  Wolcott’s,  and  spent  the  evening  in  company  with  a divine 
woman  I have  lately  become  acquainted  with,  and  who  is  all  that 
woman  can  or  ought  to  be  ; but,  heigh  ho  ! she  is  as  good  as  mar- 
ried. I am  glad  I was  informed  of  that  circumstance,  else  I should 
51 


402 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


liave  been  over  bead  and  ears  in  love.  Informed  of  my  danger,  1 
find  it  difficult  to  restrain  my  ardent  affections.  I am  glad  to  find 
that  I am  not  dried  up  and  congealed,  but  that  my  heart  is  as  sus- 
ceptible as  ever.  I would  rather  be  a man,  and  feel  as  one,  even  if 
I suffer  by  it,  than  one  of  your  insensible  devils.”  The  divine  wo- 
man referred  to  was  Miss  Eliza  Ross,  of  Bladensburg,  in  Maryland, 
then  on  a visit  to  Philadelphia.  The  case  was  very  serious,  and 
there  were  no  hopes  of  the  lover’s  recovery.  He  gave  vent  to  his 
feelings  in  verse,  which  was  perfectly  intelligible,  though  scarcely  as 
melodious  as  the  songs  of  Anacreon  Moore : 


“ To  Adam  paradise  was  given, 

Blooming  with  all  that  charms  the  sense 
Of  fruits,  one  only  was  forbidden, 

And  that  occasioned  sore  complaints. 

How  much  severer  is  my  fate 

Than  his  ! Unjust ! how  could  he  grieve  ? 

He  was  denied  the  precious  fruit, 

But  I,  alas ! deprived  of  Eve  ! 

Nay,  more — severer  still  my  case — 

A double  pain,  without  alloy — 

The  fruit  that  I ’m  forbid  to  taste, 

Another  freely  may  enjoy.” 


Women  are  changeable,  and  Miss  Ross  became  Mrs.  Smith,  after 
all.  A few  months  passed,  during  which  she  returned  to  Bladens- 
burg, and  managed  to  quarrel  with  her  old  lover  ; at  least  the  en- 
gagement was  broken  off;  and  in  May,  1795,  she  was  again  in  the 
metropolis.  On  the  departure  of  a sister  for  the  country  she  ad- 
dressed a note  to  her  rejected  admirer  : “ I have  very  few  acquaint- 
ances,” she  said,  “ and  this  is  the  time  when  the  company  of  a friend 
would  be  most  agreeable.  In  you  I expect  that  friend.”  She  was 
not  disappointed.  In  due  time  the  veteran  gallant  wrote  to  his 
brother  that  he  was  a “ happy  man.”  On  the  way  to  the  bride’s 
home  he  lost  his  wedding  suit,  and  was  obliged  therefore  to  “ stand 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


403 


up”  in  Ms  travelling  clothes,  which,  was  a serious  misfortune,  as  he 
had  been  very  particular  in  his  outfit.* 

Elizur  Goodrich  writes  to  Wolcott  in  IV  94,  introducing  Eli 
Whitney,  with  his  famous  cotton  gin.  He  describes  Mm  as  “a 
young  gentleman  who  has  occasionally  resided  in  my  family  for 
some  years  past,  of  very  fair  reputation  in  academic  studies,  and 
perhaps  inferior  to  none  in  an  acquaintance  with  mechamc  powers, 
and  those  branches  of  mechamcal  philosophy  which  are  applicable 
to  the  commerce  and  manufactures  of  our  country.  He  is  on  a 
journey  to  Philadelphia  to  lodge  a model  and  receive  a patent  for 
a machine  wMch  he  has  invented  for  cleansing  cotton  from  its  seeds.” 
Another  candidate  for  the  honors  of  scientific  discovery  was 
Dr.  Benjamin  Douglass  Perkins,  the  hero  of  Fessenden’s  “ Terrible 
Tractoration.”  John  Adams,  in  February,  1V96,  thus  notices  his 
advent  m the  city : “ There  is  a Dr.  somebody  here  from  Connec- 
ticut, who  pretends,  with  an  instrument  made  of  some  kind  of  me- 
tal or  composition  of  metals,  by  a sort  of  Mesmerian  rubbing,  or 
stroking,  or  conjuration,  to  cure  rheumatisms,  headaches,  pleurisies, 
and  I know  not  what.  Ellsworth  will  not  say  that  he  believes  in 
it,  but  he  states  facts  and  tells  stories.  I expect  the  heads  of  all 
the  old  women  will  be  turned.  They  have  got  him  into  the  Presi- 
dent’s house,  among  some  of  his  servants,  and  Mrs.  Washington 

* Smith  •writes : “ Three  miles  before  I reached  Bladensburg  I had  the  misfortune  to  lose  my 
trunk,  'with  all  my  clothes,  of  the  value  of  two  hundred  dollars.  The  fastening  untied,  and 
some  very  great  knaves  happening  to  live  in  the  vicinity,  picked  it  up  before  the  stage-driver 
returned  to  look  for  it,  which  was  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  ” A list  of  the  articles  constituting 
the  bridegroom’s  wardrobe  is  given  by  his  biographer,  Mr.  Morrison,  as  follows : “A  light-colored 
broadcloth  coat,  with  pearl  buttons ; breeches  of  the  same  cloth ; ditto,  black  satin  ; vest,  swans- 
down,  buff,  striped ; ditto  moleskin,  chequer  figure ; ditto  satin  figured ; ditto,  Marseilles,  white ; 
ditto,  muslinet,  figured ; under  vest,  faced  with  red  cassimere ; two  ditto,  flannel ; one  pair  of  flan- 
nel drawers;  one  ditto,  cotton  ditto;  one  pair  black  patent  silk  hose;  one  ditto  white  ditto ; one 
ditto  striped  ditto  ; ten  or  a dozen  white  silk  hose ; three  pair  of  cotton  hose ; four  pair  of  gauze 
ditto  ; a towel ; six  shirts;  twelve  neck-kerchiefs ; six  pocket  handkerchiefs,  one  of  them  a ban* 
danna ; a chintz  dressing-gown  ; a pair  of  silk  gloves ; ditto  old  kid  ditto.” 


404 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


told  me  a story  on  Tuesday,  before  a number  of  gentlemen,  so  in 
effably  ridiculous  that  I dare  not  repeat  it.  The  venerable  lady 
laughed  as  immoderately  as  all  the  rest  of  us  did.”  Perkins  went 
to  London,  and  became  famous  and  rich.  His  house  was  crowded 
with  bishops,  lords,  and  men  and  women  of  every  degree,  thou- 
sands of  whom  certified  that  they  were  cured  of  diseases  by  the 
metallic  tractors.  The  satire  of  Fessenden  ended  the  delusion. 

VII. 

It  was  among  the  offences  of  the  President  in  which  the  demo- 
cratic writers  and  orators  discovered  signs  of  treasonable  conspiracy 
and  a determination  to  engraft  upon  our  youthful  republicanism  the 
forms  at  least  of  a monarchy,  that  he  had  “ birth-day  odes.”  It  is 
not  stated  that  an  appropriation  from  the  treasury  was  ever  de- 
manded for  the  payment  of  a laureate,  and  perhaps  it  was  all  the 
worse  that  so  many  were  willing  to  sing  the  praises  of  Washington 
without  reward.  The  Chief  himself,  however,  we  may  readily  be- 
lieve, would  have  dispensed  with  such  service  to  be  relieved  of  the 
necessity  of  reading  the  quires  of  poor  but  patriotic  verses  addressed 
to  him.  Our  poets  of  that  day  had  no  mean  opinion  of  their  own 
abilities,  and  they  were  generous  in  each  other’s  praise.  Humphreys, 
in  a “ Poem  on  the  Happiness  of  America,”  written  before  the  close 
of  the  revolution,  exclaims : 

“ Why  sleep’st  thou,  Barlow,  child  of  genius  ? why 
Seest  thou,  blest  Dwight,  our  land  in  sadness  lie  ? 

And  where  is  Trumbull,  earliest  boast  of  fame  1 
’T  is  yours,  ye  bards,  to  wake  the  smothered  flame  — 

To  you,  my  dearest  friends,  the  task  belongs, 

To  rouse  your  country  with  heroic  songs.” 

And  Barlow,  in  his  “ Vision  of  Columbus,” 

“ With  keen-eyed  glance  through  Nature’s  walks  to  pierce, 

With  all  the  powers  and  every  charm  of  verse, 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


405 


Each  science  opening  in  his  ample  mind, 

His  fancy  glowing,  and  his  taste  refined, 

See  Trumbull  lead  the  train.  His  skilful  hand 
Hurls  the  keen  darts  of  satire  through  the  land ; 

Pride,  knavery,  dulness,  feel  his  mortal  stings, 

And  listening  Virtue  triumphs  while  he  sings. . . . 

On  glory’s  wing  to  raise  the  ravished  soul 
Beyond  the  hounds  of  earth’s  benighted  pole, 

For  daring  Dwight  the  epic  muse  sublime 
Hails  her  new  empire  in  the  western  clime. . . . 

Where  Freedom’s  cause  his  patriot  bosom  warms, 

In  council  sage,  nor  inexpert  in  arms, 

See  Humphreys,  glorious  from  the  field  retire, 

Sheath  the  glad  sword  and  string  the  sounding  lyre.” 

And  besides  this  “ mutual  admiration  society  ” of  Connecticut,  there 
were  Allen,  Ladd,  Freneau,  Hopkinson,  Livingston,  Smith,  Mar- 
koe,  and  some  half  dozen  others,  who  consoled  themselves  for  con- 
temporary neglect  with  dreams  of  posthumous  fame. 

Though  Colonel  Humphreys  must  be  regarded  as  the  poet  lau- 
reate of  Washington,  as  diligent  in  the  performance  of  the  duties 
of  his  office  as  ever  was  bard  expecting  pipes  of  choicest  wine  for 
votive  songs,  yet  there  was  a “ tuneful  throng  ” of  the  other  sex, 
ever  ready  to  celebrate  the  hero’s  virtues  and  his  actions  in  effusions 
sufficiently  indicative  of  an  anxiety  to  attract  his  favorable  atten- 
tion. Our  most  conspicuous  poetesses  of  that  day  were  Mrs.  Fer- 
guson, of  whose  unpublished  writings  there  are  still  two  large 
quarto  volumes  in  the  Philadelphia  Library;  Mrs.  Bleecker,  of 
Tomhannik;  Mrs.  Warren,  the  sister  of  James  Otis;  Mrs.  Stock- 
ton,  wife  of  Richard  Stockton  and  sister  of  Elias  Boudinot ; Phillis 
Wheatley,  from  the  Senegal,  celebrated  by  Mr.  Clarkson  and  the 
Abbe  Gregory  as  not  inferior  in  literary  excellence  to  the  fairest 
of  her  rivals ; and  Mrs.  Morton,  wife  of  the  Attorney  General  of 
Massachusetts,  to  be  named  in  whose  verses,  her  critics  said,  was  to 
be  immortalized.  The  Boston  Mercury,  in  the  spring  of  1793,  ad- 
vised the  world  that  “Fame,  ever  listening  with  delight  to  the  lyre 


406 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


of  * Philenia,’  had  lately  been  assiduous  in  circulating  the  informa- 
tion that  this  favorite  of  the  muse  was  composing  a poem,  of  the 
epic  nature,  in  which  would  be  celebrated  some  of  the  most  striking 
features  of  the  revolution  in  this  country”  This  was  the  first  an- 
nouncement of  Mrs.  Morton’s  “ Beacon  Hill ; ” and  a contemporary 
bard,  Kobert  Treat  Paine,  warmed  with  the  intelligence,  addressed 
to  her  a congratulatory  epistle,  in  which  he  says  — 


“ Beacon  shall  live,  the  theme  of  future  lays ; 

Philenia  bids  ; obsequious  Fame  obeys  ; 

Beacon  shall  live,  embalmed  in  verse  sublime, 

The  new  Parnassus  of  a nobler  clime. 

No  more  the  fount  of  Helicon  shall  boast 

Its  peerless  waters  or  its  suitor  host 

’T  is  here  Philenia’s  muse  begins  her  flight, 

As  Heaven  elate,  extensive  as  the  light ; 

Here,  like  this  bird  of  J ove,  she  mounts  the  wind, 

And  leaves  the  clouds  of  vulgar  bards  behind  ! ” 

And  in  conclusion  he  asks  — 

“ What  hero’s  bosom  would  not  wish  to  bleed  — 

That  you  might  sing,  and  raptured  ages  read  ? ” 

Mrs.  Morton  was  not  ungrateful,  and  she  returned  Mr.  Paine’s 
compliments  in  kind,  amiably  describing  him  as  a poet 

“ Who  now  with  Homer’s  strength  can  rise, 

Then  with  the  polished  Ovid  move  ; 

Now  swift  as  rapid  Pindar  flies, 

Then  soft  as  Sappho’s  breath  of  love.” 

After  the  publication  of  Gifford’s  satire,  and  Erskine’s  speech 
in  the  case  of  Williams  against  Faulder,  “ Anthony  Pasquin  ” was 
driven  from  England  by  contempt,  and  “ Della  Crusca  ” by  derision, 
and  both  found  an  asylum  in  the  United  States  — the  profligate 
libeller  to  become  the  editor  of  a democratic  journal,  and  the  sick- 
ly sentimentalist  to  acquire  an  influence  over  our  fledgling  poets 
not  less  apparent  than  that  which  Tennyson  has  exerted  in  later 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


407 


years.  Mrs.  Morton,  in  some  “ lines  addressed  to  the  inimitable 
author  of  the  poems  under  the  signature  of  £ Della  Crusca,’  ” greeted 
him  in  a style  worthy  of  the  Florence  Miscellany — 

“ Across  the  vast  Atlantic  tide, 

Down  Appalachia’s  grassy  side, 

What  echoing  sounds  the  soul  beguile, 

And  lend  the  lip  of  grief  a smile  ! 

T is  Della  Crusca’s  heavenly  song 
Which  floats  the  western  breeze  along, 

Breathing  as  sweet,  as  soft  a strain, 

As  kindness  to  the  ear  of  pain ; 

Splendid  as  noon,  as  morning  clear, 

As  chaste  as  evening’s  pearly  tear.” 

Dr.  Ladd,  Mr.  Paine,  and  nearly  all  our  “ female  poets,”  in  the 
closing  years  of  the  last  century,  were  servile  imitators  of  Mr. 
Merry,  and  the  late  Judge  Story  began  his  career  as  an  author  in 
an  elaborate  performance  not  unworthy  of  such  a master. 

VIII. 

Lsr  painting  the  country  was  more  fortunate.  Woolaston,  Cop- 
ley, Blackburn,  and  some  others,  had  produced  a great  number  of 
admirable  portraits  before  the  war,  and  subsequently  there  were 
several  artists  here  of  remarkable  excellence  in  the  same  line. 
Washington  was  frequently  painted,  but  there  are  not  many  good 
pictures  of  him.  In  1785  he  wrote  to  Judge  Hopkinson,  “I  am 
so  hackneyed  to  the  touches  of  the  painter’s  pencil  that  I am  now 
altogether  at  their  beck,  and  sit  ‘ like  Patience  on  a monument  ’ 
while  they  are  delineating  the  lines  of  my  face.  It  is  a proof, 
among  many  others,  of  what  habit  and  custom  may  accomplish ; 
at  first  I was  as  impatient  at  the  request,  and  as  restive  under  the 
operation,  as  a colt  is  under  the  saddle ; the  next  time  I submitted 
very  reluctantly,  but  with  less  flouncing ; now  no  dray-horse  moves 
more  readily  to  his  thill  than  I to  the  painter’s  chan*.”  This  was 


408 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


written  on  the  introduction  of  Robert  Edge  Pine  to  him.  Pine 
bad  been  a “ painter  to  His  Majesty,”  and  among  bis  sitters  in  Lon 
don  bad  been  Garrick  and  other  famous  wits.  He  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1783  to  paint  the  chiefs  of  the  revolution,  for  a series  of 
historical  compositions,  and  accumulated  a great  number  of  heads 
and  other  studies,  but  never  finished  any  large  work  of  that  kind. 
In  a few  years  Trumbull  occupied  the  field,  and  by  his  success  per- 
haps discouraged  further  attempts  by  him.  He  was  an  irritable 
little  gentleman,  and  his  wife  and  daughters  were  also  very  small. 
They  painted  portraits  in  Philadelphia  and  gave  lessons  in  drawing 
there,  under  the  patronage  of  Robert  Morris.  Hopkinson  men- 
tions as  a proof  of  our  subsequent  advancement  in  civilization  that 
Pine  brought  to  this  country  a plaster  cast  of  the  V enus  de  Medici, 
but  kept  it  very  privately,  as  the  manners  of  the  time  would  not 
permit  the  public  exhibition  of  such  a figure : a fact  which  may 
seem  strange  to  those  who  remember  that  some  of  the  celebrated 
women  of  this  period  exposed  their  own  finely-developed  persons 
in  a manner  to  shock  even  young  Frenchmen,  fresh  from  the  gayest 
society  of  Paris ; but  it  was  then  the  fashion,  in  London  as  well 
as  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  to  imitate  the  costume  of  pic- 
tures painted  in  the  most  dissolute  period  of  English  morals. 

M.  Du  Cimetiere,  a Genevan,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  about  the 
year  1760,  and  lived  there  nearly  thirty  years,  practising  his  pro- 
fession as  a painter,  and  collecting  specimens  in  natural  history. 
Washington  says  he  drew  many  good  likenesses,  from  the  life,  and 
had  them  engraved  in  Paris,  for  sale ; and  besides  his  own  he  men- 
tions particularly  those  of  General  Gates  and  Baron  Steuben. 

Robert  Fulton  painted  a poor  portrait  of  Washington  in  1782, 
who  in  the  following  year  sat  at  Rocky  Hill,  New  Jersey,  to  Wil- 
liam Dunlap  and  Joseph  Wright.  Wright’s  picture  was  sent  to 
Europe  as  a present  from  the  Chief  to  the  Count  de  Solms. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


409 


M.  Houdon  arrived  from  France  in  1785,  in  the  same  ship  with 
Dr.  Franklin,  and,  proceeding  to  Mount  Vernon,  remained  there  two 
weeks,  in  which  time  he  modelled  the  head  of  the  General  for  his 
statue  which  had  been  ordered  by  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  is 
now  in  the  capitol  at  Richmond. 

Soon  after  the  inauguration,  in  New  York,  Edward  Savage,  a 
miserable  painter,  copied  the  President’s  features  as  well  as  he 
could,  for  Harvard  College,  and  his  portrait  was  engraved  by 
young  Edwin,  in  a very  creditable  manner,  though  Savage  took 
the  credit  of  its  execution  on  the  copper  as  well  as  on  the  canvas. 
About  the  same  time  Madame  de  Brehan,  sister  of  the  French 
minister,  made  two  small  portraits  of  him,  one  of  which  he  present- 
ed to  Mrs.  Bingham.  The  other  was  engraved  in  Paris. 

Trumbull  had  painted  a head  of  Washington,  from  memory,  in 
1780.  In  the  fall  of  1789  he  returned  from  Europe,  and  soon  after 
executed  the  portrait  which  is  in  the  New  York  City  Hall ; and  in 
•1792,  in  Philadelphia,  that  which  is  in  the  gallery  at  New  Haven. 
The  city  of  Charleston  had  engaged  him  to  paint  a full-length  of 
the  President,  and  he  says  “ he  undertook  it  con  amove , meaning  to 
give  his  military  character  in  the  most  sublime  moment  of  its  exer- 
tion — the  evening  previous  to  the  battle  of  Princeton,  when,  viewing 
the  vast  superiority  of  the  approaching  enemy,  and  the  impossibility 
of  again  crossing  the  Delaware  or  retreating  down  the  river,  he 
conceived  the  plan  of  returning  by  a night  march  into  the  country 
from  which  he  had  just  been  driven,  thus  cutting  off  the  enemy’s 
communication  and  destroying  his  stores  at  Brunswick.”  “ I told 
the  President  my  object,”  he  says ; “ he  entered  into  it  warmly, 
and,  as  the  work  advanced,  we  talked  of  the  scene,  its  dangers,  its 
almost  desperation.”  He  looked  again  as  if  animated  by  the  feel- 
ings of  the  conflict,  and  the  artist  pleased  himself  with  a belief 
that  he  had  transferred  to  the  canvas  the  lofty  expression  of  the 
52 


410 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


hero’s  countenance.  But  this  production  did  not  give  satisfaction ; 
the  people  of  Charleston  desired  a “matter-of-fact  likeness,  calm, 
tranquil,  peaceful,”  and  Washington  sat  again,  for  such  a picture. 
In  1791  and  1792  Trumbull  painted  a great  number  of  portraits, 
among  which  were  those  of  John  Jay,  Temple  Franklin,  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington (with  a full  rosy  face,  and  in  a white  dress,  and  cap  — very 
matronly),  Nelly  Custis,  Sophia  Chew,  Harriet  Chew,  Cornelia 
Schuyler  (a  sister  of  Mrs.  Hamilton,  afterward  married  to  Mr. 
Van  Rensselaer),  Julia  Seymour,  who  was  a celebrated  beauty,  and 
two  daughters  of  Jeremiah  Wadsworth. 

In  1791  Mi*.  Archibald  Robertson,  of  Aberdeen,  arrived  in  this 
country,  bearing  from  the  Earl  of  Buchan  an  introductory  letter  to 
Washington,  and  a box  made  from  the  oak  tree  which  sheltered 
Sir  William  Wallace,  after  the  battle  of  Falkirk,  which  the  Gold- 
smith’s Company  of  Edinburgh  had  previously  presented  to  the 
earl.  Mr.  Robertson  painted  a very  good  portrait  of  the  President, 
which  was  sent  to  Scotland,  by  Mr.  Lear,  in  1794,  and  he  afterward 
pursued  his  profession  with  success  for  many  years  in  New  York. 

Giuseppe  Ceracchi,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  contemporary 
sculptors,  had  conceived  in  Rome  a design  for  a monument  of  the 
American  revolution,  and  coming  to  Philadelphia,  in  1791,  he  pre- 
pared a model  of  it,  which  was  much  admired.  It  was  to  be  of  statu- 
ary marble,  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  to  cost  but  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  This  sum,  however,  could  not  be  obtained,  and  Ceracchi  re- 
turned to  Europe,  and  was  subsequently  put  to  death  for  an  attempt 
to  assassinate  Napoleon.  While  here  he  executed  busts  of  Wash- 
ington and  many  other  distinguished  characters.  He  invited  Dr. 
Hugh  Williamson  to  sit  for  one,  and  that  person  made  himself  ap- 
pear exceedingly  ridiculous  by  the  puerile  manner  in  which  he  de- 
clined the  compliment. 

In  a collection  which  I have  made  of  more  than  sixty  engraved 


LIFE  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 


411 


portraits  of  Washington  published  during  his  life — probably  the 
largest  collection  of  the  kind  in  existence  — I find  three  which  pur- 
port to  be  from  paintings  by  Charles  Wilson  Peale.  One,  painted 
at  Mount  Vernon  in  17 70,  was  engraved  by  K.  Scott;  another, 
painted  in  1780,  was  engraved  in  mezzotint  by  Peale  himself;  and 
the  third,  from  a picture  dated  1783,  was  engraved  the  following 
year  in  Paris.  Mr.  Peale  painted  fourteen  portraits  of  Washington, 
but  probably  not  more  than  four  or  five  of  them  were  from  life. 
His  brother  James  painted  two,  and  his  son  Kembrandt  one. 

It  has  frequently  been  stated  that  Mr.  Wertmuller,  a German, 
painted  a portrait  of  Washington,  from  life,  in  1783 ; but  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  President  ever  sat  to  him. 

Gilbert  Stuart,  after  a brilliant  career  in  London,  established 
himself  for  a short  time  in  New  York.  Soon  after  his  arrival  Judge 
Cushing,  who  happened  then  to  be  in  the  city,  invited  him  to  tea,  and 
Mrs.  Cushing  refers  to  him  in  her  diary  as  “ an  extraordinary  limner, 
said  to  excel  by  far  any  other  in  America.”  His  reputation  was  so 
high  indeed  that  everybody  who  was  rich  enough  to  pay  his  price 
was  anxious  to  sit  to  him,  and  he  produced  with  great  rapidity  a 
large  number  of  portraits.  But  a desire  to  paint  Washington  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  his  return  to  the  United  States,  and 
he  was  impatient  to  begin  his  work.  His  first  picture  was  un- 
successful, but  the  second  was  in  every  respect  masterly,  and  the 
artist  and  the  subject  were  equally  pleased  with  it.  Only  the  head 
was  finished.  From  this  he  made  more  than  twenty  copies.  Of 
his  four  or  five  full-lengths,  the  first  was  sent  by  Mr.  Bingham*  as 

* Before  sitting  for  this  picture  Washington  wrote  to  Stuart  the  following  note:  “Sir:  I am 
under  promise  to  Mrs.  Bingham  to  sit  for  you  to-morrow  at  nine  o’clock ; and  wishing  to  know 
if  it  is  convenient  to  you  that  I should  do  so,  and  whether  it  shall  be  at  your  own  house,  (as  she 
talked  of  the  state  house,)  I send  this  note  to  you  to  ask  information.  I am,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant,  Geo.  Washington.  Monday  evening,  11th  April,  1796.”  He  sat  at  Stuart’s  own  house, 
and  was  accompanied  several  times  by  Harriet  Chew,  (afterwards  Mrs.  Carroll,)  whose  conver- 
sation he  said  should  give  his  face  its  most  agreeable  expression. 


412 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


a present  to  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  the  last  is  now  in  Fanueil  Hall 
in  Boston. 

A bust  of  Washington  was  modelled  by  a Mr.  Gullagher,  of 
Boston,  in  1789 ; a much  better  one  was  produced  by  Mr.  Eccles- 
ton,  of  Virginia,  in  1796.  The  last  portrait  of  him  was  in  crayon,  by 
Sharpless,  drawn  the  same  year. 

Among  the  miniature  painters  of  the  time  of  Washington  Ben- 
jamin Trott  held  a conspicuous  rank ; but  no  artist  in  this  depart- 
ment is  deserving  of  comparison  with  Edward  Malbone,  for  pro- 
priety and  grace,  or  the  details  of  finished  execution.  “ The  Hours  ” 
show  what  capacities  he  had  for  composition,  but  his  vocation  was 
for  portraiture,  and  notwithstanding  the  depreciation  of  this  branch 
of  art  by  its  professors  or  by  others,  “ the  power  of  animating  and 
dignifying  the  countenance,  and  impressing  on  it  the  appearance  of 
wisdom  and  virtue,  requires,”  as  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  well  observes, 
“ a nobleness  of  conception  which  goes  beyond  any  thing  in  the 
mere  exhibition  of  even  the  most  perfect  forms.”  When  Mr.  Mon- 
roe was  in  London,  on  his  way  to  France,  as  minister  to  that  coun- 
try, Mr.  West  said  to  him,  “I  have  seen  a picture  painted  by  a 
young  man  of  the  name  of  Malbone,  which  no  man  in  England 
could  excel ; ” and  other  critics,  of  authority  as  high  as  that  of  the 
President  of  the  Royal  Academy,  have  declared  that  there  are 
even  now  in  the  most  famous  collections  no  miniatures  comparable 
to  those  of  our  ingenious  countryman,  whose  Avorks  continue  to  be 
cherished  among  the  choicest  treasures  of  the  few  families  who  em- 
ployed him  at  the  close  of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  The  beauties  of  the  time  of  Washington  were  for  the 
most  part  somewhat  faded  before  Malbone  was  fairly  started  in  his 
career ; but  this  volume  is  adorned  by  an  engraAdng  from  one  of 
his  works,  alike  remarkable  for  fidelity  and  a simple  and  chaste 
elegance  rarely  displayed  in  such  performances. 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


L 

As  the  second  term  of  his  administration  drew  near  its  end,  many 
of  the  Mends  of  Washington  urged  him  to  continue  for  another 
period  of  four  years  at  the  head  of  affairs ; hut  it  was  impossible 
to  change  his  purpose  of  retiring  to  private  life.  He  was  deeply 
wounded  by  the  profligacy  of  his  enemies,  and  on  the  twelfth  of 
June,  1796,  wrote  to  Colonel  Humphreys,  who  was  still  in  Portu- 
gal : “ The  gazettes  will  give  you  a pretty  good  idea  of  the  state 
of  politics  and  parties  in  this  country,  and  will  show  you  at  the 
same  time,  if  Bache’s  Aurora  is  among  them,  in  what  manner  I am 
attacked  for  persevering  steadily  in  measures  which  to  me  appear 
necessary  to  preserve  us,  during  the  conflicts  of  belligerent  powers, 
in  a state  of  tranquillity.  But  these  attacks,  unjust  and  unpleasant 
as  they  are,  will  occasion  no  change  in  my  conduct,  nor  will  they 
produce  any  other  effect  in  my  mind  than  to  increase  the  solicitude 
which  long  since  has  taken  fast  hold  of  my  heart,  to  enjoy  in  the 
shades  of  retirement  the  consolation  of  believing  that  I have  ren- 
dered to  my  country  every  service  to  which  my  abilities  were  com- 
petent— not  from  pecuniary  or  ambitious  motives,  nor  from  a 
desire  to  provide  for  any  men  farther  than  then*  intrinsic  merit  en- 
titled them,  and  surely  not  with  a view  of  bringing  my  own  rela- 


414 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


tions  into  office.  Malignity  therefore  may  dart  its  shafts,  hut  nc 
earthly  power  can  deprive  me  of  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that 
I have  not  in  the  whole  course  of  my  administration  committed  an 
intentional  error.” 

With  Mr.  Jefferson  the  President  had  maintained  an  occasional 
and  formal  intercourse  up  to  this  period.  On  the  sixth  of  July, 
between  three  and  four  weeks  after  the  above  sentences  were  sent 
to  Colonel  Humphreys,  he  addressed  to  the  chief  of  the  democratic 
party  a final  communication,  in  which  he  says : “ Until  within  the 
last  year  or  two  I had  no  conception  that  parties  would  or  even 
could  go  the  length  I have  been  witness  to ; nor  did  I believe,  un- 
til lately,  that  it  was  within  the  bounds  of  probability,  hardly 
within  those  of  possibility,  that,  while  I was  using  my  utmost  ex- 
ertions to  establish  a national  character  of  our  own,  independent, 
as  far  as  our  obligations  and  justice  and  truth  would  permit,  of 
every  nation  of  the  earth,  and  wished  by  steering  a steady  course 
to  preserve  this  country  from  the  horrors  of  a desolating  war,  I 
should  be  accused  of  being  the  enemy  of  one  nation,  and  subject 
to  the  influence  of  another ; and,  to  prove  it,  that  every  act  of  my 
administration  would  be  tortured,  and  the  grossest  and  most  insidi- 
ous representations  of  them  made,  by  giving  one  side  only  of  a 
subject,  and  that  too  in  such  exaggerated  and  indecent  terms  as 
could  scarcely  be  applied  to  a Nero,  a notorious  defaulter,  or  even 
to  a common  pickpocket.  But  enough  of  this.  I have  already 
gone  further  in  the  expression  of  my  feelings  than  I intended.” 
This  brought  the  correspondence  of  the  founders  and  heads  of  the 
rival  parties  to  a final  conclusion. 

In  the  following  September,  nearly  six  months  before  the  end 
of  his  administration,  he  published  his  Farewell  Address  to  the 
People  of  the  United  States,  the  most  dignified  exhibition  of  polit- 
ical wisdom  that  ever  emanated  from  the  mind  of  a statesman.  It 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


415 


was  generally  received  by  the  legislatures  and  the  people  with  the 
respect  which  was  due  to  such  a display  of  feeling  and  understand- 
ing, from  so  exalted  a character,  and  it  has  continued  to  be  an  in- 
fluence and  an  authority,  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  second  only  to 
the  Constitution  itself. 

In  December  the  two  houses  of  Congress  came  together,  and 
the  President  delivered,  in  person,  as  was  his  custom,  his  last  mes- 
sage, at  the  close  of  which  he  said,  “ The  situation  in  which  I now 
stand,  for  the  last  time,  in  the  midst  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  naturally  recalls  the  period  when  the 
administration  of  the  present  form  of  government  commenced ; and 
I cannot  omit  the  occasion  to  congratulate  you  and  my  country  on 
the  success  of  the  experiment,  nor  to  repeat  my  fervent  supplica- 
tions to  the  Supreme  Puler  and  Arbiter  of  nations,  that  his  care 
may  still  be  extended  to  the  United  States ; that  the  virtue  and 
happiness  of  the  people  may  be  preserved ; and  that  the  govern- 
ment which  they  have  instituted  for  the  protection  of  their  liber- 
ties may  be  perpetual.” 

II. 

The  sixty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  birth-day  of  Washington  was 
celebrated  with  an  unusual  but  a saddened  enthusiasm.  Every  one 
felt  that  it  was  the  last  occasion  of  the  kind  on  which  he  would  be 
present  in  Philadelphia,  and  that  the  illustrious  Chief  would  him- 
self see  but  few  returns  of  it  any  where.  The  ships  in  the  harbor 
displayed  their  gayest  colors ; the  bells  of  the  churches  every  half 
hour  during  the  day  rang  merry  peals  ; and  the  members  of  Con- 
gress and  other  official  characters,  with  a great  number  of  the  most 
respectable  private  citizens,  waited  on  the  President  at  his  residence 
to  offer  in  person  their  homage  and  congratulations.  In  the  even- 
ing there  was  a splendid  ball  at  the  amphitheatre.  The  area  usu- 


416 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


ally  occupied  by  the  equestrians  was  floored  over  for  dancing,  and 
the  whole  interior  was  tastefully  and  profusely  ornamented  with  ever- 
greens, the  symbols  of  his  fame,  and  with  banners  and  inscriptions. 
Upon  an  elevated  platform  was  a sofa,  with  a canopy  over  it,  for 
the  President  and  Mrs.  Washington.  He  did  not  confine  himself 
to  this,  but  moved  about,  conversing  familiarly  with  the  company, 
consisting  of  the  foreign  ambassadors,  members  of  the  cabinet, 
senators,  representatives,  and  the  most  distinguished  strangers  and 
inhabitants  of  the  city.  Jeremiah  Smith,  writing  at  eleven  o’clock 
the  same  evening,  tells  us  that  there  were  present  five  hundred 
ladies,  elegantly  dressed,  and  a still  greater  number  of  gentlemen. 
“ The  President  and  Mrs.  Washington,”  he  says,  “ were  in  very  good 
spirits,  and,  I am  persuaded,  have  not  spent  so  agreeable  an  even- 
ing for  a long  time.  Every  countenance  bespoke  pleasure  and  ap- 
probation ; even  democrats  forgot  for  a moment  their  enmity,  and 
seemed  to  join  heartily  in  the  festivity.” 

A few  days  before  his  final  retirement  the  • President  held  his 
last  formal  levee.  It  was  attended  not  only  by  the  beauty  and 
fashion  of  the  metropolis,  but  by  a larger  number  of  eminent  men 
than  had  ever  been  present  on  a similar  occasion.  The  leading 
democratic  journal,  “ The  Aurora,”  had  a few  days  previously  given 
expression  to  the  feelings  of  its  party  in  a characteristic  article,  in 
which  it  was  alleged  that  “ if  ever  a nation  was  debauched  by  a 
man,  the  American  nation  has  been  debauched  by  Washington  ; if 
ever  a nation  was  deceived  by  a man,  the  American  nation  has  been 
deceived  by  Washington ;”  and  the  poor  wretch,  Thomas  Paine, 
had  addressed  a public  letter  to  the  President,  in  which  he  said, 
“As  to  you,  sir,  treacherous  in  private  friendship,  and  a hypocrite 
in  public  life,  the  world  will  be  puzzled  to  decide  whether  you  are 
an  apostate  or  an  impostor,  whether  you  have  abandoned  good 
principles,  or  whether  you  ever  had  any ; ” and  when  a resolution 


4 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


417 


was  offered  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  complimenting  him  on 
his  approaching  release  from  the  cares  of  government,  Andrew  Jack- 
son,  who  had  lately  become  a member  of  Congress,  with  twenty 
others,  voted  against  it ; yet  at  this  last  levee  the  respectability  of 
the  country  was  largely  represented  — the  men  who  were  most  emi- 
nent for  talents  and  for  honorable  actions  came,  in  crowds,  to  offer 
a reverence  the  most  sincere  and  affectionate  that  ever  was  yielded 
to  human  greatness. 

On  the  second  of  March  Washington  wrote  to  his  old  friend 
General  Knox : “ To  the  wearied  traveller,  who  sees  a resting-place, 
and  is  bending  his  body  to  lean  thereon,  I now  compare  myself; 
but  for  me  to  be  suffered  to  do  this  in  peace,  is  too  much  to  be  en- 
dured by  some ; to  misrepresent  my  motives,  to  reprobate  my  poli- 
tics, and  to  weaken  the  confidence  which  has  been  reposed  in  my 
administration,  are  objects  which  cannot  be  relinquished  by  those 
who  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a change  in  our  politi- 
cal system.  The  consolation,  however,  which  results  from  conscious 
rectitude,  and  the  approving  voice  of  my  country,  unequivocally 
expressed  by  its  representatives,  deprives  their  sting  of  its  poison, 
and  places  in  the  same  point  of  view  both  the  weakness  and  the 
malignity  of  their  efforts.  Although  the  prospect  of  retirement  is 
most  grateful  to  my  soul,  and  I have  not  a wish  to  mix  again  in 
the  great  world,  or  to  partake  in  its  politics,  yet  I am  not  without 
my  regrets  at  parting  with  (perhaps  never  more  to  meet  them)  the 
few  intimates  whom  I love,  and  among  these,  be  assured,  you  are 
one.  The  account  given  by  Mi*.  Bingham  and  others  of  your  agree- 
able situation  and  prospects,  at  St.  George’s,  gave  me  infinite  plea- 
sure, and  no  one  wishes  more  sincerely  than  I do  that  they  may 
increase  with  your  years.  The  remainder  of  my  life,  which  in  the 
course  of  nature  cannot  be  long,  will  be  occupied  in  rural  amuse- 
ments ; and  though  I shall  seclude  myself  as  much  as  possible  from 
53 


418 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT 


the  noisy  and  hustling  crowd,  none  would  more  than  myself  he  re- 
galed hy  the  company  of  those  I esteem,  at  Mount  Vernon  — more 
than  twenty  miles  from  which,  after  I arrive  there,  it  is  not  likely 

that  I shall  ever  he To-morrow,  at  dinner,  I shall,  as  a servant 

of  the  public,  take  my  leave  of  the  President  elect,  of  the  foreign 
characters,  the  heads  of  departments,  Ac.,  and  the  day  following, 
with  pleasure,  I shall  witness  the  inauguration  of  my  successor  in 
the  chair  of  government.” 

To  this  dinner  as  many  were  invited  as  could  he  accommodated 
at  the  President’s  table.  Among  them  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Liston, 
the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  d’Yrujo,  and  the  other  foreign  minis- 
ters, with  their  wives;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pickering,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wol 
cott,  Mr:  and  Mrs.  McHenry,  Mr.  and  Mis.  Cushing,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bingham,*  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Hamilton,  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  Bishop 
White.  “ During  the  dinner,”  says  the  bishop,  “ much  hilarity 
prevailed  ; hut  on  the  removal  of  the  cloth  it  was  put  an  end  to  hy 
the  President  — certainly  without  design.  Having  filled  his  glass, 
he  addressed  the  company,  with  a smile  on  his  countenance,  saying, 
‘ Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  the  last  time  I shall  drink  your 
health,  as  a public  man.  I do  it  with  sincerity,  and  wishing  you 


* The  fate  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  so  frequently  mentioned  in  these  pages,  presents  an  affecting 
example  of  the  uncertainty  of  earthly  honors  and  enjoyments.  Returning  from  a party  of  plea- 
sure, soon  after  the  birth  of  her  only  son,  exposure  to  the  cold,  in  a sleigh,  brought  on  a malady 
■which  was  soon  perceived  to  be  dangerous.  A milder  climate  was  recommended,  and  a vessel 
fitted  with  great  care  for  her  transport  to  the  Bermudas.  Her  departure,  on  a palanquin,  from 
her  splendid  mansion  to  this  vessel,  which,  it  was  generally  apprehended,  would  never  restore 
her  to  her  friends,  was  an  event  which  attracted  the  gaze  of  hundreds.  Climate  could  produce 
no  benefit,  and  after  some  months  of  gradual  but  sure  decline,  she  expired  in  those  islands,  on 
the  eleventh  of  May,  1801,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven.  Iler  husband,  overwhelmed  with  the 
loss  of  such  a wife,  went  afterwards  to  England,  and  died  at  Bath,  about  the  year  1804.  His 
monument,  in  the  abbey  church  there,  attracts  the  notice  of  the  American  traveller.  Mrs. 
Bingham  left  three  children.  Her  eldest  daughter,  Anne,  who  died  in  1848,  married  Alexander 
Baring,  the  late  Lord  Ashburton,  and  was  the  mother  of  the  present  peer.  The  second,  Maria, 
married,  first,  Alexandre,  Comte  de  Tilly ; second,  Henry  Baring ; and,  third,  le  Marquis  de 
Blaisel.  She  died,  I believe,  not  long  since. 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


419 


all  possible  happiness.’  There  was  an  end  of  all  pleasantry.”  The 
bishop  chanced  to  turn  his  eyes  toward  the  wife  of  the  British 
minister,  and  perceived  that  her  cheeks  were  suffused  with  tears. 
Doubtless  there  were  many  other  such  displays  of  feeling. 

III. 

The  next  day,  at  an  early  hour,  Chestnut  street  in  the  vicinity 
of  Congress  Hall  was  filled  with  an  immense  concourse  of  people, 
anxious  to  see  once  more  the  retiring  President.  At  eleven  o’clock 
Mr.  Jefferson  took  his  oath  as  Vice  President,  in  the  presence  of 
the  senate,  and  that  body  soon  after  proceeded  to  the  chamber  of 
the  representatives,  which  was  densely  crowded.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers had  yielded  their  chairs  to  women,  and  every  place  on  the 
floor  and  in  the  gallery  was  occupied.  At  twelve  o’clock  Wash- 
ington entered,  and  was  greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers  and  the 
waving  of  handkerchiefs.  Mr.  Adams  followed,  in  a few  moments, 
and  was  received  in  the  same  manner.  The  Chief  Justice,  Oliver 
Ellsworth,  with  his  associates,  Cushing,  Wilson,  and  Iredell,  was 
seated  at  a table  in  front  of  the  chair  of  the  Speaker,  and  when  he 
had  administered  the  oath  of  his  office  to  the  new  President,  the 
inaugural  speech  was  delivered,  and  was  heard  with  a profound  at- 
tention. Mr.  Adams  referred  to  Washington,  as  a personage  “ who, 
by  a long  course  of  great  actions,  regulated  by  prudence,  justice, 
temperance,  and  fortitude  — conducting  a people  inspired  by  the 
same  virtues,  and  animated  with  the  same  ardent  patriotism  and 
love  of  liberty,  to  independence  and  peace,  to  increasing  wealth  and 
unexampled  prosperity  — had  merited  the  gratitude  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  commanded  the  highest  praises  of  foreign  nations,  and  se- 
cured immortal  glory  with  posterity.” 

Dr.  William  Duer,  lately  President  of  Columbia  College,  was  a 
Bpectator  of  this  scene.  “ At  the  close  of  the  ceremony,”  he  says, 


420 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


“ as  the  venerable  hero  moved  towards  the  door,  there  was  a rash 
from  the  gallery  that  threatened  the  lives  of  those  who  were  most 
eager  to  catch  a last  look  of  him  who,  among  mortals,  was  the  first 
object  of  their  veneration.  Some  of  us  effected  an  escape  by  slip- 
ping down  the  pillars.  I succeeded  in  making  good  my  retreat 
through  the  outer  door,  in  time  to  see  the  retiring  veteran,  as  he 
waved  his  hat  in  return  for  the  cheers  of  the  multitude,  while  his 
gray  locks  ‘ streamed  like  a meteor  to  the  wind.’  Seldom  as  he 
was  known  to  smile,  his  face  now  beamed  with  radiance  and  be- 
nignity. I followed  him  in  the  crowd  to  his  own  door,  where,  as  he 
turned  to  address  the  multitude,  his  countenance  assumed  a serious 
and  almost  melancholy  expression,  his  voice  failed  him,  his  eyes  were 
suffused  with  tears,  and  only  by  his  gestures  could  he  indicate  his 
thanks,  and  convey  a farewell  blessing  to  the  people.  This  was 
the  last  I saw  of  the  most  illustrious  of  mankind,  and  should  I live 
a thousand  years,  I ‘ ne’er  shall  look  upon  his  like  again.’  ” As  soon 
as  Mr.  Adams  had  returned  to  his  residence  Washington  made  him 
a visit,  cordially  congratulated  him,  and  expressed  a wish  that  his 
administration  might  be  happy,  successful,  and  honorable.  In  the 
evening  he  attended  an  entertainment  given  by  the  principal  inhab- 
itants of  the  city,  at  the  amphitheatre.  The  leading  public  charac- 
ters, including  the  foreign  ministers,  were  present,  and  the  place  was 
decorated  for  the  occasion  with  numerous  paintings,  referring  to 
Washington’s  life  and  services.  One  of  them  was  a representation 
of  his  home  on  the  Potomac,  and  the  surrounding  scenery. 

IY. 

Five  days  after  the  inauguration  of  his  successor  Washington 
set  out  for  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  received  at  all  the  towns  on 
the  way  with  the  same  enthusiasm  which  had  been  manifested  du- 
ring his  triumphal  journey  to  New  York,  eight  years  before.  He 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


421 


was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Washington,  Miss  Eleanor  Custis,  George 
W.  P.  Custis,  and  the  son  of  Lafayette,  with  bis  preceptor.  The 
other  granddaughters  of  Mrs.  Washington  were  married  — one  to 
Mr.  Law,  an  English  gentleman  of  considerable  fortune,  and  the 
other  to  Mr.  Peters.  Nelly  Custis  soon  after  became  the  wife  of 
Washington’s  nephew,  Mr.  Lawrence  Lewis. 

Of  his  daily  life  at  Mount  Vernon  he  has  left  us  a pleasing  de- 
scription. “ Having  turned  aside  from  the  broad  walks  of  political 
into  the  narrow  paths  of  private  life,  I shall  leave  it,  for  those  whose 
duty  it  is,  to  consider  subjects  of  this  sort,  and,  as  every  good  citi- 
zen ought  to  do,  conform  to  whatsoever  the  ruling  powers  shall  de- 
cide. To  make  and  sell  a little  flour,  annually,  to  repair  houses 
(going  fast  to  ruin),  to  build  one,  for  the  security  of  my  papers  of 
a public  nature,  and  to  amuse  myself  in  agricultural  and  other 
rural  pursuits,  will  constitute  employment  for  the  few  years  I have 
to  remain  on  this  terrestrial  globe.  If,  also,  I could  now  and  then 
meet  the  friends  I esteem,  it  would  fill  their  measure  and  add  zest  to 
my  enjoyments ; but  if  this  happens,  it  must  be  under  my  own  vine 
and  fig-tree,  as  I do  not  think  it  probable  that  I shall  go  beyond 
twenty  miles  from  them.”  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  he  wrote, 
“ I begin  my  diurnal  course  with  the  sun ; ” and  having  described 
his  preparations  for  the  day’s  business,  he  proceeds,  “ by  the  time 
I have  accomplished  these  matters  breakfast  (a  little  after  seven 
o’clock)  is  ready;  this  being  over,  I mount  my  horse,  and  ride 
round  my  farms,  which  employs  me  until  it  is  time  to  dress  for  din- 
ner, at  which  I rarely  miss  seeing  strange  faces,  come,  as  they  say, 
out  of  respect  for  me.  Pray,  would  not  the  word  curiosity  answer 
as  well  ? And  how  different  this  from  having  a few  social  friends 
at  a cheerful  board ! The  usual  time  of  sitting  at  table,  a walk, 
and  tea,  bring  me  within  the  dawn  of  candle-light,  previous  to 
which,  if  not  prevented  by  company,  I resolve  that  as  soon  as  the 


422 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


glimmering  taper  supplies  the  place  of  the  great  luminary,  I will 
retire  to  my  writing-table  and  acknowledge  the  letters  I have 
received ; but  when  the  lights  are  brought,  I feel  tired,  and  disin- 
clined to  engage  in  this  work,  conceiving  that  the  next  night  will 
do  as  well.  The  next  night  comes,  and  with  it  the  same  causes  of 
postponement,  and  so  on — Having  given  you  this  history  of  a day, 
it  will  serve  for  a year.”  In  this  way  passed  the  closing  period  of 
his  life.  When  the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  French  Directory 
made  it  necessary  for  our  government  to  prepare  for  war,  the  aged 
Chief,  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  his  private  interests,  his  happiness, 
and  even  his  fame,  for  his  country,  accepted  again  the  office  of 
commander  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States;  but  fortunately 
peace  was  preserved,  and  he  was  not  called  from  his  retirement. 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  closing  scene  of 
his  august  career.  Between  ten  and  eleven  o’clock,  on  the  night  of 
Saturday,  the  fourteenth  of  December,  1199,  he  expired. 

y. 

In  this  volume  I have  attempted  in  a desultory  way  to  illustrate 
the  habits  of  society  and  the  characteristics  of  eminent  persons,  in 
an  age  the  most  important  and  extraordinary  in  our  history.  The 
main  design  has  been  to  exhibit  the  social  rather  than  the  political 
aspects  of  that  time ; but  it  will  readily  be  perceived  that  it  was 
impossible  to  do  one  and  not  the  other.  The  events  which  secured 
to  this  country  a popular  constitution  as  a possession  for  ever,  made 
every  American  a member  of  the  most  responsible,  difficult,  and 
dignified  profession  which  the  ability  of  man  can  illustrate  — the 
profession  of  politics.  By  the  fundamental  law  of  the  country  we 
are  all  hereditary  statesmen ; we  are  all  advisers  and  active  directors 
of  the  administration.  “ La  vie  du  plus  simple  particulier  dans  une 
republique,”  said  the  elder  and  the  wiser  of  the  Mirabeaus,  “ est 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


423 


plus  compliquee  que  celle  d’un  liomme  en  place  dans  une  monar- 
chic.” Of  tliis  calling  of  politics  may  be  said  what  Augustus 
Scblegel  has  said  of  authorship,  that  according  to  the  spirit  in 
which  it  is  pursued,  it  is  an  infamy,  a pastime,  a day-labor,  a handi- 
craft, an  art,  a science,  a virtue.  It  is  of  the  first  importance  to 
society,  and  every  one  in  it,  that  the  character  and  tone  of  this 
profession  should  be  raised,  and  maintained  at  an  elevation ; that 
its  members  should  be  capable  of  dealing  in  it  with  competent 
ability,  and  with  that  temper  of  confidence  that  rejects  and  de- 
spises tricks  and  intrigue ; that  they  should  be  always  feeling  that 
it  involves  principles,  and  not  merely  personalities;  that  it  is  a 
great  moral  and  intellectual  science,  in  which  passions  and  interests 
must  play  in  perpetual  subordination  to  the  permanent  laws  of  wis- 
dom and  truth ; and  that  all  its  acts  and  all  its  contests  stand  in 
such  intimate  relations  with  the  lofty  interests  of  human  virtue  and 
human  greatness,  that  the  humblest  efforts  in  its  cause  partake  of 
dignity,  and  its  least  rewards  are  truly  honorable.  Nothing  would 
have  a more  happy  influence  on  the  politics  of  this  day,  nothing 
raise,  expand  and  purify  them,  or  give  them  higher  significance 
and  greater  weight,  than  a study  of  the  private  and  public  charac- 
ters and  actions  of  those  who  founded  our  constitution,  and  watched 
over  the  earliest  development  of  its  principles.  To  comprehend  the 
distinction  and  the  permanent  relation  between  the  great  parties 
which  have  divided  and  will  always  divide  this  country,  it  is  indis- 
pensable to  resort  to  the  conferences  and  the  conduct  of  those  who, 
in  the  brighter  and  better  time  of  the  commonwealth,  explored  the 
depths  of  that  subject  with  the  sagacity  of  philosophers,  and  illus- 
trated its  extent  upon  the  largest  scale  of  statesmanship. 

“ I am  not  fonder  of  simpletons  in  politics  than  other  people 
are,”  wrote  M.  Capfigue,  “ but  for  the  honor  of  mankind  I am 
willing  to  believe  that  men  may  be  clever  and  still  retain  perfect 


424 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


probity  and  good  faith.”  This  difficult  art,  to  carry  into  public  life 
the  morals  and  the  sentiments  that  give  grace  to  private  character  ; 
to  join  sincerity  and  directness  of  personal  deportment  with  effect- 
iveness and  force  of  political  action ; to  gain  the  outward  with 
neither  soilure  nor  loss  of  a more  sacred  excellence  within,  seemed 
to  be  the  native  inspiration  of  those  extraordinary  men  who  formed 
the  entourage  of  Washington.  They  were  a band  of  “ Happy 
Warriors,” 

“ Whose  high  endeavors  were  an  inward  light 
That  made  the  path  before  them  always  bright, 

More  skilful  in  self-knowledge,  even  more  pure, 

As  tempted  more : 

Who,  in  a state  where  men  are  tempted  still 
To  evil,  for  a guard  against  worse  ill, 

And  what  in  quality  or  act  is  best 
Doth  seldom  on  a right  foundation  rest, 

Still  fixed  good  on  good  alone,  and  owe 
To  virtue  every  triumph  that  they  know.” 

It  has  not  been  attempted  in  this  too  hasty  performance  to  dis- 
cuss any  of  those  important  questions  of  policy  which  were  sug- 
gested or  decided  during  the  earlier  administrations.  The  histories 
of  affairs  are  sufficiently  numerous  and  ample  for  the  inquisitive 
student  who  would  examine  the  claims  which  the  statesmanship  of 
Washington,  Adams,  Jay,  Hamilton,  Marshall,  and  them  friends,  on 
the  one  side,  and  that  of  Jefferson,  Eandolph,  Giles,  Paine,  Madison, 
Monroe,  and  the  rest  of  the  opposition  leaders,  on  the  other,  pre- 
sents for  our  approval  and  imitation.  But  demeanor  in  the  drawing- 
room was  then  at  the  seat  of  government  a reflection  of  temper  in 
the  cabinet  and  the  senate  ; and  styles  of  living  and  conversation 
were  continually  referred  to  in  public  debates  as  evidences  of  po- 
litical tendencies,  and  causes  of  apprehended  political  dangers.  To 
illustrate  the  personal  qualities  of  the  chief  characters  of  that  time, 
by  collecting  these  scant  and  fragmentary  reminiscences  of  habit, 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


425 


feeling,  and  social  condition,  was  therefore  a task  not  less  worthy  of 
an  inquirer  respecting  the  rise  of  parties  and  opinions,  than  of  a 
historian  of  civility. 

The  founders  and  first  administrators  of  our  government  were 
intellectually  and  morally  far  above  the  ordinary  examples  of  hu- 
man greatness.  A fame  as  pure  and  splendid  as  theirs  is  among 
the  rarest  products  of  history.  The  central  figure  in  that  group  of 
eminent  personages  was  the  Father  of  his  Country,  and  it  is  de- 
lightful to  turn  from  the  humiliating  page  in  which  is  recorded  the 
insults  which  he  suffered  for  his  virtues,  to  accounts  which  have 
come  down  to  us  of  the  honors  he  received  from  those  who  more 
justly  appreciated  his  nature  and  his  services.  The  select  circle  of 
official  and  private  characters  with  whom  Washington  was  most 
intimate,  comprised  an  amount  of  respectability  which  perhaps  was 
never  in  any  royal  or  imperial  court  surpassed,  and  of  this  circle 
none  ever  approached  him  without  being  either  fascinated  by  his 
grandeur  or  touched  by  his  goodness. 

The  higher  domestic  life  of  that  period,  as  revealed  in  all  we 
know  of  its  refinement  and  elegance,  its  dignified  courtesy  and  in- 
flexible morality,  can  be  contemplated  with  only  a respectful  admi- 
ration. It  was  in  keeping  with  the  frankness  and  sincerity  of  as- 
cendant politics.  Women  unhesitatingly  evinced  their  sympathies 
with  whatever  was  generous  and  honorable  in  public  conduct,  but 
rarely  if  ever  in  forgetfulness  of  the  requirements  of  feminine  pro- 
priety. Though  patriotic  they  were  content  to  be  women  still,  and 
were  anxious  for  the  distinctions  of  delicacy  and  grace.  They  per- 
ceived that  it  was  their  nobility  not  to  be  men,  but  to  be  women 
worthy  of  men.  In  possession  of  every  right  with  which  they  were 
endowed  by  nature,  they  had  no  desire  to  exercise  men’s  prerog- 
atives. There  were  indeed  some  shameless  females,  not  unwilling 
to  exhibit  mortification  at  having  been  created  of  a sex  whose  finer 
54 


426 


THE  REPUBLICAN  COURT. 


attributes  were  beyond  tbeir  emulation,  and  all  tbe  poor  stuff  which 
this  class  now  displays  in  periodical  offences  against  decency,  was 
spoken  and  written  till  it  grew  too  stale  even  for  derision ; but 
these  creatures  were  not  in  society ; they  were  regarded  only  as 
curious  monsters.  Such  wives  as  those  of  Washington,  Adams, 
Jay,  Wolcott,  Bradford,  and  King,  had  no  desire,  as  Montaigne 
expresses  it,  “ to  cover  their  beauties  under  others  that  were  none 
of  theirs.” 


APPENDIX 


i. 

PERSONAL  APPEARANCE  OF  WASHINGTON,  AS  DESCRIBED  BY  SOME 
CONTEMPORARY  FOREIGNERS. 

The  surpassing  greatness  of  Washington  was  seen  and  felt  by  every  one  who  was  permitted 
to  come  into  his  presence.  The  stature  and  air  of  other  eminent  characters  have  frequently  dis- 
appointed their  expectations  whose  ideas  had  been  formed  by  the  fame  of  illustrious  actions. 
With  those  who  saw  Washington  this  was  never  the  case.  Every  thing  about  him  gave  assurance 
of  a character  altogether  transcending  the  ordinary  dimensions  of  humanity.  We  have  des- 
criptions of  him  by  many  foreigners  who  visited  this  country  during  his  military  or  his  po- 
litical career,  but  unfortunately  none  by  his  most  intimate,  affectionate,  and  reverent  friends, 
Lafayette,  Luzerne,  and  some  others,  in  the  army,  or  in  the  earlier  diplomatic  service  of  France. 
From  those  that  we  have,  however,  a few  are  here  transcribed. 

In  the  expedition  under  the  Marshal  Count  de  Rochambeau,  which  arrived  in  America  in 
1780,  were  Lieutenant  General  Count  Mathieu  Dumas,  and  Major  General  the  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux,  both  of  whom  afterward  attempted  the  portraiture  of  Washington  in  their  Memoirs.  Dumas 
introduces  him  as  follows : 

“General  Washington,  accompanied  by  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  repaired  in  person  to  the  French  head- 
quarters. We  had  been  impatient  to  see  the  hero  of  liberty.  His  dignified  address,  his  simplicity  of  manners,  and 
mild  gravity,  surpassed  our  expectation,  and  won  every  heart.  After  having  conferred  with  Count  Eocbambeau,  as 
he  was  leaving  us  to  re;  urn  to  his  head-quarters  near  West  Point,  I received  the  welcome  order  to  accompany  him  as 
far  as  Providence.  We  arrived  there  at  night;  the  whole  of  the  population  had  assembled  from  the  suburbs;  we 
were  surrounded  by  a crowd  of  children  carrying  torches,  reiterating  tke  acclamations  of  the  citizens;  all  were  eager 
to  approach  the  person  of  him  whom  they  called  their  father,  and  pressed  so  closely  around  us  that  they  hindered  us 
from  proceeding.  General  Washington  was  much  affected,  stopped  a few  moments,  and  pressing  my  hand,  said,  ‘We 
may  be  beaten  by  the  English ; it  is  the  chance  of  war ; but  behold  an  army  which  they  can  never  conquer.’  ” After- 
wards the  count  conveyed  to  him  some  despatches,  at  Mount  Vernon.  “I  recall  the  impressions  which  I received 
daring  the  short  stay  lliat  I made  in  the  family  of  the  deliverer  of  America.  The  brilliant  actions  of  great  men  can- 
not fail  to  be  recalled  by  history ; the  anecdotes  of  their  private  life  are  equally  worthy  of  being  preserved,  because 
they  often  make  us  better  acquainted  with  the  principal  traits  of  their  character.  The  general  gave  me  a most  cor- 
dial reception.  He  appeared  to  be  highly  satisfied  with  the  despatches  which  I delivered  to  him,  in  the  presence  of 
M.  do  Lafayette,  Colonel  Hamilton,  his  aid-de-camp,  and  Colonel  Humphreys,  who  performed  the  duties  of  chief  of 
the  staff.  He  withdrew  to  confer  with  them.  Being  invited  to  dinner,  which  -was  remarkably  plain,  I had  leisure  to 
admire  the  perfect  harmony  of  his  noble  and  fine  countenance,  with  the  simplicity  of  his  language  and  the  justice  and 
depth  of  his  observations.  He  generally  sat  long  at  table,  and  animated  the  conversation  by  unaffected  cheerfulness. 
Much  was  said  of  the  treachery  of  Arnold,  of  the  firmness  and  moderation  with  which  the  General  had  just  suppressed 
the  insubordination  of  the  troops  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  lastly  of  the  situation  of  Virginia,  of  the  maichei 
and  counter-marches  of  Lord  Cornwallis.  I was  particularly  struck  with  the  marks  of  affection  which  the  General 
showed  to  his  pupil,  his  adopted  son  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette.  Seated  opposite  to  him,  he  looked  at  him  with  pleas 
ire,  and  listened  to  him  with  manifest  interest.  One  of  the  company,  (if  I remember  rightly  it  was  Colonel  Hamil- 


m 


APPENDIX 


toD,  who  was  afterwards  so  unfortunately  and  so  prematurely  snatched  from  the  hopes  of  his  country,)  related  the 
manner  in  which  the  General  had  received  a despatch  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  addressed  to  Mr.  Washington.  Taking 
It  from  the  hands  of  the  flag  of  truce,  and  seeing  the  direction,  ‘This  letter,’  said  he,  ‘is  directed  to  a planter  of  the 
state  of  Virginia.  I shall  have  it  delivered  to  him  after  the  end  of  the  war;  till  that  time  it  shall  not  be  opened.’  A 
second  despatch  was  addressed  to  his  Excellency  General  Washington.’’ 

The  description  of  Washington  by  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux  is  endorsed  by  the  anonymous 
translator,  who  was  himself  familiar  with  the  Chief's  personal  appearance.  He  confesses  that  it  is 
feebly  rendered,  but  declares  that  “ every  feature,  every  tint,  of  the  portrait,  will  stand  the  test 
of  the  severest  scrutiny.” 

“Here  would  be  the  proper  place  to  give  the  portrait  of  General  Washington;  but  what  can  my  testimony  add  to 
tho  idea  already  formed  of  him?  The  continent  of  North  America,  from  Boston  to  Charleston,  is  a great  volume, 
every  page  of  which  presents  his  eulogium.  I know,  that  having  had  the  opportunity  of  a near  inspection,  and  of 
closely  observing  him,  some  more  particular  details  may  be  expected  from  me ; but  the  strongest  characteristic  of  this 
respectable  man,  is  the  perfect  union  which  reigns  between  the  physical  and  moral  qualities  which  compose  the  indi- 
vidual ; one  alone  will  enable  you  to  judge  of  all  tho  rest.  If  you  are  presented  with  medals  of  Caesar,  of  Trajan,  or 
Alexander,  on  examining  their  features,  you  will  still  be  led  to  ask  what  was  their  stature,  and  the  form  of  their  per- 
sons ; but  if  you  discover,  in  a heap  of  ruins,  the  head  or  the  limb  of  an  antique  Apollo,  be  not  curious  about  the  other 
parts,  but  rest  assured  that  they  all  were  conformable  to  those  of  a god.  Let  not  this  comparison  be  attributed  to  en- 
thusiasm 1 It  is  not  my  intention  to  exaggerate ; I wish  only  to  express  the  impression  General  Washington  has  left 
on  my  mind  — the  idea  of  a perfect  whole,  which  cannot  be  the  product  of  enthusiasm,  which  rather  would  reject  it, 
since  the  effect  of  proportion  is  to  diminish  the  idea  of  greatness.  Brave  without  temerity,  laborious  without  ambi- 
tion, generous  without  prodigality,  noble  without  pride,  virtuous  without  severity,  he  seems  always  to  have  confined 
himself  within  those  limits,  where  the  virtues,  by  clothing  themselves  in  more  lively  but  more  changeable  and  doubt- 
ful colors,  may  bo  mistaken  for  faults.  This  is  the  seventh  year  that  he  has  commanded  the  army,  and  that  he  has 
obeyed  the  Congress.  More  need  not  be  said,  especially  in  America,  where  they  know  how  to  appreciate  all  the  merit 
contained  in  this  simple  fact.  Let  it  be  repeated  that  Condd  was  inlrepid,  Turenne  prudent,  Eugene  adroit,  and 
Catinet  disinterested.  It  is  not  thus  that  Washington  will  be  characterized.  It  will  be  said  of  him,  at  the  end  of  a 
long  civil  war,  he  had  nothing  with  which  he  could  reproach  himself.  If  any  thing  can  be  more  marvellous  than 
such  a character,  it  is  the  unanimity  of  the  public  suffrages  in  his  favor.  Soldier,  magistrate,  people,  all  love  and  ad- 
mire him ; all  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  tenderness  and  veneration.  Does  there  then  exist  a virtue  capable  of  restrain- 
ing the  injustice  of  mankind?  or,  are  glory  and  happiness  too  recently  established  in  America,  for  envy  to  have 
deigned  to  pass  the  seas?  In  speaking  of  this  perfect  whole,  of  which  General  Washington  furnishes  the  idea,  I have 
not  excluded  exterior  form.  Ilis  stature  is  noble  and  lofty ; he  is  well  made  and  exactly  proportioned ; his  physiognomy 
mild  and  agreeable,  but  such  as  renders  it  impossible  to  speak  particularly  of  any  of  his  features,  so  that  in  quitting 
him  you  have  only  the  recollection  of  a fine  face.  He  has  neither  a grave  nor  a familiar  air.  His  brow  is  sometimes 
marked  with  thought,  but  never  with  inquietude.  Inspiring  respect,  he  inspires  confidence,  and  his  smile  is  always 
the  smile  of  benevolence.” 

The  Abbe  Robin,  a French  priest  attached  to  the  army  of  Rochambeau  as  chaplain,  and  evi 
dently  a man  of  education,  refinement,  and  liberality,  gives  us  the  following  sketch  of  Washing 
ton  in  his  Nouveau  Voyage  dans  V Amerique  Septentrionale , published  in  Paris  in  1782. 

“I  have  seen  General  Washington,  that  most  singular  man  — the  soul  and  support  of  one  of  the  greatest  revolu- 
tions that  has  ever  happened,  or  can  happen.  I fixed  my  eyes  upon  him  with  that  keen  attention  which  the  sight  of 
a great  man  always  inspires.  Wo  naturally  entertain  a secret  hope  of  discovering  in  the  features  of  such  illustrious 
persons  some  traces  of  that  excellent  genius  which  distinguishes  them  from,  and  elevates  them  abovo  their  fellow 
mortals.  Perhaps  the  exterior  of  no  man  was  better  calculated  to  gratify  these  expectations  than  that  of  General 
Washington.  He  is  of  a tall  and  noble  stature,  well  proportioned,  a fine,  cheerful,  open  countenance,  a simple  and 
modest  carriage;  and  his  whole  mien  has  something  in  it  that  interests  the  French,  tho  Americans,  and  even  enemies 
themselves  in  his  favor.  Placed  in  a military  view,  at  the  head  of  a nation  where  each  individual  has  a share  in  tho 
supreme  legislative  authority,  and  where  coercive  laws  are  yet  in  a great  degree  destitute  of  vigor,  where  the  climate 
and  manners  can  add  but  little  to  their  energy,  where  the  spirit  of  party,  private  interest,  slowness  and  national  indo- 
lence, slacken,  suspend  and  overthrow  the  best  concerted  measures ; although  so  situated,  he  has  found  out  a method 
of  keeping  his  troops  in  the  most  absolute  subordination : making  them  rivals  in  praising  him ; fearing  him  even  when 
he  is  silent,  and  retaining  their  full  confidence  in  him  after  defeats  and  disgrace.  His  reputation  has,  at  length,  arisen 
to  a most  brilliant  height;  and  he  may  now  grasp  at  the  most  unoounded  power,  without  provoking  envy  or  exciting 
suspicion.  He  has  ever  shown  himself  superior  to  fortune,  and  in  the  most  trying  adversity  has  discovered  resources 
till  then  unknown ; and,  as  if  his  abilities  only  increased  and  dilated  at  the  prospect  of  difficulty,  he  is  never  better 
supplied  than  when  he  seems  destitute  of  every  thing,  nor  have  his  arms  ever  been  so  fatal  to  his  enemies,  as  at  the 
very  instant  when  they  had  thought  they  had  crushed  him  for  ever.  It  is  his  to  excite  a spirit  of  heroism  and  enthu 
siasm  in  a people,  who  are  by  nature  very  little  susceptible  of  it;  to  gain  over  the  respect  and  homage  of  those  whose 
interest  it  is  to  refuse  it,  and  to  execute  his  plans  and  projects  by  means  unknown  even  to  those  who  are  his  instru- 
ments; he  is  intrepid  in  dangers,  yet  never  seeks  them  but  when  the  good  of  his  country  demands  it,  preferring  rather 
to  temporize  and  act  upon  the  defensive,  because  he  knows  such  a mode  of  conduct  best  suits  the  genius  and  circum- 
stances of  the  nation,  and  that  all  he  and  they  have  to  expect,  depends  upon  time,  fortitude,  and  patience:  he  is  frugal 


APPENDIX. 


42S 


and  sober  in  regard  to  himself,  but  profuse  in  the  public  cause ; like  Peter  the  Great,  be  has  by  defeats  conducted  his 
army  to  victory ; and  like  Fabius,  but  with  fewer  resources  and  more  difficulty,  he  has  conquered  without  fighting, 
and  saved  bis  country.  Such  are  the  ideas  that  arise  in  tho  mind,  at  the  sight  of  this  great  man,  in  examining  the 
events  in  which  he  has  had  a share,  or  in  listening  to  those  whoso  duty  obliges  them  to  be  near  his  person,  and  conse- 
quently bsst  display  his  true  character.  In  all  these  extensive  states  they  consider  him  in  the  light  of  a beneficent 
God,  dispensing  peace  and  happiness  around  him.  Old  men,  women,  and  children,  press  about  him  when  he  accident- 
ally passes  along,  and  think  themselves  happy,  once  in  their  lives,  to  have  seen  him  — they  follow  him  through  the 
towns  with  torches,  and  celebrate  his  arrival  by  public  illuminations.  The  Americans,  that  cool  and  sedate  people, 
who  in  the  midst  of  their  most  trying  difficulties,  have  attended  only  to  the  directions  and  impulses  of  plain  method 
and  common  reason,  are  roused,  animated,  and  inflamed  at  the  very  mention  of  his  name:  and  the  first  songs  that 
sentiment  or  gratitude  has  dictated,  have  been  to  celebrate  Genera!  Washington.'’ 

Joseph  Mandrulon,  a French  merchant  and  man  of  letters,  established  at  Amsterdam,  whence 
he  made  a voyage  to  this  country,  has  the  following  in  his  Spcctateur  Americain,  published  in  1784 : 

“ Why  did  I not  receive  from  nature  the  genius  and  eloquence  of  the  celebrated  orators  of  Greece  and  Eome  ? 
Oh  that  I could  but  for  a moment  snatch  their  pencils  to  trace  rapidly  the  picture  of  the  greatest  man  that  America 
has  ever  produced,  and  one  of  the  most  celebrated  that  ever  existed  1 W ith  what  energy,  with  what  enthusiasm  would  I 
not  speak  of  his  brilliant  virtues!  who  is  the  man  that  would  he  jealous  of  the  homage  I pay  him?  who  is  the  man 
that  would  tax  me  with  flattery  ? We  are  no  longer  in  those  barbarous  ages  in  which  men  offered  incense  to  tyrants, 
in  which  they  dared  to  give  tho  name  of  hero  to  men  addicted  to  every  vice,  and  whom  they  dreaded  too  much  to 
offend.  We  are  no  longer  in  those  ages  when  cruel  sovereigns  had  mercenary  writers  to  palliate  their  crimes,  and  to 
praise  them  for  virtues  they  did  not  possess.  Our  more  enlightened  age  presents  to  us  in  history  sovereigns  and  men  as 
they  really  were ; truth  is  its  character.  The  public  veneration  for  General  Washington  is  the  precious  fruit  of  the  sever- 
est examination  of  his  conduct.  Jealous  of  his  glory  and  the  approbation  of  his  contemporaries,  he  enjoys  them  without 
arrogance  and  without  presumption  ; and  if  he  does  himself  the  justice  to  believe  that  he  merits  his  celebrity,  he  like- 
wise knows  that  posterity,  which  raises  and  demolishes  statues,  will  never  injure  the  trophies  erected  to  his  memory. 
The  hand  of  a barbarian  only,  who  cannot  read,  or  a savage  ignorant  of  history,  with  tho  stroke  of  a hatchet  would 
break  his  statue,  supposing  it  to  be  that  of  a despot.  But  when  from  the  ruins  of  the  inscription  they  shall  collect 
tho  name  of  Washington,  the  chief  of  these  barbarians  or  savages,  instructed  by  tradition  of  the  American  revolution, 
will  be  avenged  for  the  outrageous' attempt,  and  cause  the  monument  to  be  repaired.  On  its  base  will  be  read,  ignor- 
ance had  overthrown  it,  and  justice  again  raised  it  up  : mortals  revere  his  memory  1 Having  been  the  soul  aud  sup- 
port of  one  of  the  greatest  events  of  the  age,  it  is  but  just  that  Washington  should  pass  his  days  without  a cloud,  in 
the  bosom  of  repose,  of  honor  and  public  veneration.  Nature  sometimes  places  the  soul  of  an  hero  in  a feeble  body ; 
but  when  we  speak  of  the  brilliant  actions  of  a man  whose  features  and  stature  we  are  ignorant  of,  we  are  inclined  to 
paint  him  as  endowed  with  every  valuable  gift  of  naturo,  and  please  ourselves  with  believing  that  his  features  bear 
the  image  of  that  genius  which  elevates  him  above  his  fellow  men.  No  person  is  better  calculated  to  maintain  this 
opinion  than  Washington.  A proper  size,  noble  and  well  proportioned,  an  open  countenance,  soft  and  sedate,  but 
without  any  one  striking  feature,  and  when  you  depart  from  him,  the  remembrance  only  of  a fine  man  will  remain  ; 
a fine  figure,  an  exterior  plain  and  modest,  a dignity  insinuating,  and  firm  without  severity,  a manly  boldness,  an  un- 
common penetration  to  seize  the  whole  of  things  submitted  to  his  judgment,  and  a complete  experience  in  war  and 
politics;  equally  useful  in  the  cabinet  and  in  the  field  of  Mars,  the  idol  of  his  country,  the  admiration  of  the  enemy 
he  has  fought  and  vanquished ; modest  in  victory,  great  in  the  reverse.  Why  do  I say  reverse  ? very  far  from  being 
subdued  he  has  made  every  misfortune  contribute  to  his  success.  He  knows  to  obey  as  well  as  to  command,  ho  never 
made  use  of  bis  power  or  the  submission  of  his  army  to  derogate  from  the  authority  of  his  country  or  to  disobey  its 
commands.  With  a perfect  knowledge  of  man,  he  knew  how  to  govern  freemen  in  peace,  and  by  his  example,  his 
activity,  his  energy,  be  taught  them  to  love  glory  and  danger,  and  to  despise  the  inclemency  of  the  climate  and  the 
rigors  of  winter.  The  soldier,  jealous  of  his  praises,  feared  even  his  silence;  never  was  general  better  served  and 
obeyed.  More  thoughtful  of  his  country’s  glory  than  his  own,  he  never  trusted  to  chance ; his  operations  marked  by 
prudence,  had  always  the  preservation  of  his  country  for  their  sole  object;  he  appeared  unwilling  to  possess  glory  but 
from  her  alone ; his  maxim  was  always  to  gain  time,  to  act  on  the  defence,  and  without  attacking  his  enemies  in  front, 
he  knew  how  to  harass  them,  to  exhaust  their  forces  by  excursions,  by  surprises  of  which  a great  man  only  can  value 
the  utility.  Like  Camillus  he  forsook  the  charms  of  rural  life  and  flew  to  the  assistance  of  his  country  ; like  Fabius 
ne  S3ved  it  by  procrastinating ; like  Peter  the  Great  he  triumphed  over  his  enemies  by  the  experience  acquired  by 
misfortune.  There  is  not  a man,  not  a monarch  in  Europe  who  would  not  envy  the  glory  of  having  acted  such  a part 
as  Washington.  It  is  said  the  king  of  Prussia  sent  him  a sword  with  only  this  direction,  The  oldest  general  of  the 
old  world  to  the  greatest  general  of  the  new.  If  ever  mortal  fully  enjoyed  his  reputation  during  his  own  lifetime,  if 
ever  a citizen  found  in  his  own  country  a recompense  fbr  his  services  and  abilities,  it  is  this  hero;  every  where  en- 
tertained, admired,  caressed,  he  every  where  meets  hearts  eager  to  render  him  homage;  if  he  enters  a town,  or 
if  he  passes  through  a village,  old  and  young  men,  women  and  children,  all  follow  him  with  acclamations;  all  load 
him  with  blessings;  in  every  heert  he  has  a temple  consecrated  to  respect  and  friendship.  How  I am  delighted 
with  representing  to  myself  the  French  general,*  equally  the  idol  and  the  hero  of  his  army,  saying  at  table  as  he  sat 
near  Washington,  that  he  had  never  known  what  true  glory  was,  nor  a truly  great  man,  until  he  became  acquaint- 
ed with  him.  When  America,  evertlirown  by  the  dreadful  revolutions  of  nature,  shall  no  longer  exist,  it  will  be 
remembered  of  Washington,  that  he  was  the  defender  of  liberty,  the  friend  of  man,  and  the  avenger  of  an  oppressed 
oeople.” 

* The  Marshal  Count  de  Rochambeau, 


430 


APPENDIX. 


The  celebrated  Italian  poet,  Ajlfleri,  in  1*788  addressed  his  tragedy  of  The  First  Brutus  “to 
the  most  illustrious  and  free  citizen,  General  Washington,”  as  follows: 

“ The  name  of  the  deliverer  of  America  alone  can  stand  on  the  title-page  of  the  tragedy  of  the  deliverer  of  Home. 
To  you,  excellent  and  most  rare  citizen,  I therefore  dedicate  this,  without  first  hinting  at  a part  of  the  so  many  praises 
due  to  yourself,  which  I now  deem  all  comprehended  in  the  sole  mention  of  your  name.  Nor  can  this  my  slight  al- 
lusion to  you  appear  to  you  contaminated  by  adulation,  since,  not  knowing  you  in  person,  and  living  disjoined 
from  you  by  the  immense  ocean,  wo  have  but  too  emphatically  nothing  between  us  in  common  but  the  love  of  glory. 
Happy  are  you,  who  have  been  able  to  build  your  glory  on  the  sublime  and  eternal  basis  of  love  to  your  country, 
demonstrated  by  actions  1 I,  though  not  born  free,  yet  having  abandoned  in  time  my  lares,  and  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  I might  write  loftily  of  liberty,  hope  by  this  means  at  least  to  have  proved  what  might  have  been  my  love 
for  my  country  if  I had  indeed  fortunately  belonged  to  one  that  deserved  the  title.  In  this  single  respect,  I do  not 
think  myself  wholly  unworthy  to  mingle  my  name  with  yours.” 

Charles  James  Fox  said  in  the  British  Parliament  on  the  thirty-first  of  January,  1794: 

“ Illustrious  man  ! deriving  honor  less  from  the  splendor  of  his  situation  than  from  the  dignity  of  his  mind  I before 
whom  all  borrowed  greatness  sinks  into  insignificance ! ....  I cannot,  indeed,  help  admiring  the  wisdom  and  fortune 
of  this  great  man;  by  the  phrase  ‘fortune’  I mean  not  in  the  slightest  degree  to  derogate  from  his  merit;  but  not- 
withstanding his  extraordinary  talents  and  exalted  integrity,  it  must  be  considered  as  singularly  fortunate  that  he  should 
have  experienced  a lot  which  so  seldom  falls  to  the  portion  of  humanity,  and  have  passed  through  such  a variety  of 
scenes  without  stain  and  without  reproach.  It  must  indeed  create  astonishment  that,  placed  in  circumstances  so  criti- 
cal and  filling  for  a series  of  years  a station  so  conspicuous,  his  character  should  never  once  have  beefl  called  in  ques- 
tion ; that  he  should  in  no  one  instance  have  been  accused  either  of  improper  insolence  or  of  mean  submission,  in  his 
transactions  with  foreign  nations.  For  him  it  has  been  reserved  to  run  the  race  of  glory  without  experiencing  the 
smallest  interruption  to  the  brilliancy  of  his  career.” 

In  1795,  Mr.  Erskine,  afterward  Lord  Erskine,  called  Washington’s  attention  to  a passage  in 
the  work  he  had  then  just  written  on  the  Causes  and  Consequences  of  the  War  with  France,  in 
a letter  in  which  he  says: 

“ I have  taken  the  liberty  to  introduce  your  august  and  immortal  name  in  a short  sentence  which  will  be  found  in 
the  book  I send  you.  I have  a large  acquaintance  among  the  most  valuable  and  exalted  classes  of  men ; but  you  are 
the  only  human  being  for  whom  I ever  felt  an  awful  reverence.  I sincerely  pray  God  to  grant  you  a long  and  serene 
evening  to  a life  so  gloriously  devoted  to  the  universal  happiness  of  the  world.” 


II. 

WASHINGTON’S  “RULES  OF  CIVILITY  AND  DECENT  BEHAVIOR  IN  COMPANY.” 

Among  the  earlier  writings  of  Washington  Mr.  Sparks  preserves  a series  of  directions  as  to  per- 
sonal conduct,  and  remarks,  very  justly,  that  whoever  has  studied  the  character  of  Washington 
will  be  persuaded  that  some  of  its  most  prominent  features  took  their  shape  from  the  rules  which 
he  thus  early  selected  and  adopted  as  his  guide. 

1.  Every  action  in  company  ought  to  be  with  some  sign  of  respect  to  those  present. 

2.  In  the  presence  of  others,  sing  not  to  yourself  with  a humming  noise,  nor  drum  with  your  fingers  or  feet. 

3.  Speak  not  when  others  speak,  sit  not  when  others  stand,  and  walk  not  when  others  stop. 

4.  Turn  not  your  back  to  others,  especially  in  speaking ; jog  not  the  table  or  desk  on  which  another  reads  or  writes . 
lean  not  on  any  one. 

5.  Be  no  flatterer,  neither  play  with  any  one  that  delights  not  to  be  played  with. 

6.  Read  no  letters,  books,  or  papers  in  company;  but  when  there  is  a necessity  for  doing  it,  you  must  ask  leave. 
Come  not  near  the  books  or  writings  of  any  one  so  as  to  read  them,  unasked ; also,  look  not  nigh  wThen  another  is 
writing  a letter. 

7.  Let  your  countenance  be  pleasant,  but  in  serious  matters  somewhat  grave. 

8.  Show'  not  yourself  glad  at  the  misfortune  of  another,  though  he  were  your  enemy. 

9.  They  that  are  in  dignity  or  office  have  in  all  places  precedency ; but  whilst  they  are  young,  they  ought  to  respect 
those  that  are  their  equals  in  birth  or  other  qualities,  though  they  have  no  public  charge. 

10.  It  is  good  manners  to  prefer  them  to  whom  we  speak  before  ourselves,  especially  if  they  be  above  us,  with 
wlrom,  in  no  sort,  we  ought  to  begin. 

11.  Let  your  discourse  with  men  of  business  be  short  and  comprehensive. 

12.  In  visiting  the  sick,  do  not  presently  play  the  physician,  if  you  be  not  knowing  therein. 

18.  In  w’riting  or  speaking,  give  to  every  person  his  due  title,  according  to  his  degree  and  the  custom  of  the  place. 

14.  Strive  not  with  your  superiors  in  argument,  but  always  submit  your  judgment  to  others  with  modesty. 

15,  Undertake  not  to  teach  your  equal  in  the  art  himself  professes;  it  savors  of  arrogancy. 


APPENDIX. 


431 


16.  When  a man  does  all  he  can,  though  it  succeeds  not  well,  blame  not  him  that  did  it. 

17.  Being  to  advise  or  reprehend  any  one,  consider  whether  it  ought  to  be  in  public  or  in  private,  presently  or  at 
some  other  time,  also  in  what  terms  to  do  it;  and  in  reproving,  show  no  signs  of  choler,  but  do  it  with  sweetness  and 
mildness. 

18.  Mock  not,  nor  jest  at  any  thing  of  importance ; break  no  jests  that  are  sharp  or  biting,  and  if  you  deliver  any 
.hing  witty  or  pleasant,  abstain  from  laughing  thereat  yourself. 

19.  Wherein  you  reprove  another  be  unblamable  yourself,  for  example  is  more  prevalent  than  precept. 

20.  Use  no  reproachful  language  against  any  one,  neither  curses  nor  rovilings. 

21.  Be  not  hasty  to  believe  flying  reports,  to  the  disparagement  of  any  one. 

22.  In  your  apparel  be  modest,  and  endeavor  to  accommodate  nature  rather  than  procure  admiration.  Keep  to  the 
fashion  of  your  equals,  such  as  are  civil  and  orderly  with  respect  to  time  and  place. 

23.  Play  not  the  peacock,  looking  every  where  about  you  to  see  if  you  be  well  decked,  if  your  shoes  fit  well,  if 
your  stockings  sit  neatly,  and  clothes  handsomely. 

24.  Associate  yourself  with  men  of  good  quality  if  you  esteem  your  own  reputation,  for  it  is  better  to  be  alone 
than  in  bad  company. 

25.  Let  your  conversation  be  without  malice  or  envy,  for  it  is  a sign  of  a tractable  and  commendable  nature,  and 
in  all  causes  of  passion  admit  reason  to  govern. 

26.  Be  not  immodest  in  urging  your  friend  to  discover  a secret. 

27.  Utter  not  base  and  frivolous  things  amongst  grown  and  learned  men : nor  very  difficult  questions  or  subjects 
amongst  the  ignorant,  nor  things  hard  to  be  believed. 

28.  Speak  not  of  doleful  things  in  time  of  mirth,  nor  at  the  table : speak  not  of  melancholy  things,  as  death  and 
wounds,  and  if  others  mention  them,  change,  if  you  can,  the  discourse.  Tell  not  your  dreams  but  to  your  intimate 
friends. 

29.  Break  not  a jest  where  none  take  pleasure  in  mirth.  Laugh  not  aloud,  nor  at  all  without  occasion.  Deride  no 
man’s  misfortune,  though  there  seem  to  be  some  cause. 

30.  Speak  not  injurious  words,  neither  in  jest  or  earnest.  Scoff  at  none,  although  they  give  occasion. 

31.  Be  not  forward,  but  friendly  and  courteous,  the  first  to  salute,  hear  and  answer,  and  be  not  pensive  when  it  is  a 
time  to  converse. 

32.  Detract  not  from  others,  but  neither  be  excessive  in  commending. 

33.  Go  not  thither,  where  you  know  not  whether  you  shall  be  welcome  or  not  Give  not  advice  without  being 
asked,  and  when  desired,  do  it  briefly. 

34.  If  two  contend  together,  take  not  the  part  of  either  unconstrained,  and  be  not  obstinate  in  your  opinion : in 
things  indifferent  be  of  the  major  side. 

35.  Beprehend  not  the  imperfections  of  others,  for  that  belongs  to  parents,  masters,  and  superiors. 

36.  Gaze  not  on  the  marks  or  blemishes  of  others,  and  ask  not  how  they  came.  What  you  may  speak  in  secret  to 
your  friend,  deliver  not  before  others. 

37.  Speak  not  in  an  unknown  tongue  in  company,  but  in  your  own  language ; and  that  as  thoso  of  quality  do,  and 
not  as  the  vulgar.  Sublime  matters  treat  seriously. 

38.  Think  before  you  speak ; pronounce  not  imperfectly,  nor  bring  out  your  words  too  hastily,  but  orderly  and 
distinctly. 

89.  When  another  speaks,  be  attentive  yourself  and  disturb  not  the  audience.  If  any  hesitate  in  his  words,  help 
him  not,  nor  prompt  him  without  being  desired ; interrupt  him  not,  nor  answer  him  till  his  speech  be  ended. 

40.  Treat  with  men  at  fit  times  about  business,  and  whisper  not  in  the  company  of  others. 

41.  Make  no  comparisons,  and  if  any  of  the  company  be  commended  for  any  brave  act  of  virtue,  commend  not 
another  for  the  same. 

42.  Be  not  apt  to  relate  news,  if  you  know  not  the  truth  thereof.  In  discoursing  of  things  you  have  heard,  name 
not  your  author  always.  A secret  discover  not. 

43.  Be  not  curious  to  know  the  affairs  o*  others,  neither  approach  to  those  that  speak  in  private. 

44.  Undertake  not  what  you  cannot  perform ; but  be  careful  to  keep  your  promise. 

45.  When  you  deliver  a matter,  do  it  without  passion  and  indiscretion,  however  mean  the  person  may  be  you 
do  it  to. 

46.  When  your  superiors  talk  to  any  body,  hear  them,  neither  speak  nor  laugh. 

47.  In  disputes,  be  not  sg  desirous  to  overcome  as  not  to  give  liberty  to  each  one  to  deliver  his  opinion,  and  submit 
to  the  judgment  of  the  major  part,  especially  if  they  are  judgers  of  the  dispute. 

48.  Be  not  tedious  in  discourse,  make  not  many  digressions,  nor  repeat  often  the  same  matter  of  discourse. 

49.  Speak  no  evil  of  the  absent,  for  it  is  unjust. 

50.  Be  not  angry  at  table  whatever  happens,  and  if  you  have  reason  to  be  so,  show  it  not,  put  on  a cheerful  coun- 
tenance, especially  if  there  be  strangers,  for  good  humor  makes  one  dish  a feast. 

51.  Set  not  yourself  at  the  upper  end  of  the  table,  but  if  it  be  your  due,  or  the  master  of  the  house  will  have  it  so 
contend  not  lest  you  should  trouble  the  company. 

52.  When  you  speak  of  God  or  his  attributes,  let  it  be  seriously  in  reverence  and  honor,  and  obey  your  natural 
parents. 

53.  Let  your  recreations  be  manful,  not  sinful. 

54.  Labor  to  keep  alive  in  your  breast  that  little  spark  of  celestial  fire,  called  conscience. 


482 


APPENDIX 


III. 

EXTRACT  FROM  WASHINGTON’S  DIARY,  DURING  THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 

Washington  kept  diaries  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  The  following  extract  from  that 
which  relates  to  the  period  of  the  Convention  for  forming  the  Constitution,  discloses  some  of  the 
social  intimacies  of  the  Chief  in  Philadelphia. 

May  9th,  1787.  — Crossed  from  Mount  Yernon  to  Mr.  Digges's  a little  after  sunrise,  and,  pursuing  the  route  Ly  the 
way  of  Baltimore,  dined  at  Mr.  Bichard  Henderson’s  in  Bladensburg,  and  lodged  at  M^jor  Snowden’s,  where,  feeling 
very  severely  a violent  headache  and  sick  stomach,  I went  to  bed  early. 

10th.  — A very  great  appearance  of  rain  in  the  morning,  and  a little  falling,  induced  me,  though  well  recovered,  to 
wait  till  about  eight  o’clock  before  I set  off.  At  one  o’clock  I arrived  at  Baltimore ; dined  at  the  Fountain  Inn,  and 
supped  and  lodged  at  Dr.  McHenry’s ; rain  in  the  evening. 

11th. — Set  off  before  breakfast;  rode  twelve  miles  to  Skirrett’s;  baited  there,  and  proceeded  without  halting 
(weather  threatening),  to  the  ferry  at  Havre  de  Grace,  where  I dined,  but  could  not  cross,  the  wind  being  turbulent 
and  squally.  Lodged  there. 

12th.  — With  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  wind,  crossed  the  Susquehanna,  Breakfasted  at  the  ferry-house  on  the 
east  side.  Dined  at  the  Head  of  Elk  (Hollingsworth’s  tavern),  and  lodged  at  Wilmington.  At  the  Head  of  Elk  I was 
overtaken  by  Mr.  Francis  Corbin,  who  took  a seat  in  my  carriage. 

13 th.  — About  eight  o’clock  Mr.  Corbin  and  myself  set  out,  and  dined  at  Chester  (Mr.  Wilky’s),  where  I was  met 
by  Generals  Mifflin  (now  speaker  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly),  Knox,  and  Yarnum,  Colonels  Humphreys  and 
Menges,  and  Majors  Jackson  and  Nicholas,  with  whom  I proceeded  to  Philadelphia.  At  Gray’s  Ferry  the  city  light- 
horse,  commanded  by  Colonel  Miles,  met  me,  and  escorted  me  in ; and  the  artillery  officers,  who  stood  arranged, 
saluted  me  as  I passed.  Alighted  through  a crowd  at  Mr.  House’s;  but  being  again  warmly  and  kindly  pressed  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kobert  Morris  to  lodge  with  them,  I did  so,  and  had  my  baggage  removed  thither.  Waited  on  the 
president,  Dr.  Franklin,*  as  soon  as  I got  to  town.  On  my  arrival  the  bells  were  chimed. 

14 th.  — This  being  the  day  appointed  for  the  Convention  to  meet,  such  members  as  were  in  town  assembled  at  the 
State-house  ; but  only  two  states  being  represented,  namely,  Yirginia  and  Pennsylvania,  agreed  to  attend  at  the  same 
place  at  eleven  o’clock  to-morrow.  Dined  in  a family  way  at  Mr.  Morris’s. 

15 th.  — Kepaired  at  the  hour  appointed  to  the  State-house;  but  no  more  states  being  represented  than  yesterday, 
though  several  more  members  had  come  in,  we  agreed  to  meet  again  to-morrow.  Governor  Eandolph  from  Yirginia 
came  in  to-day.  Dined  with  the  members  of  the  general  meeting  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

16 th. — No  more  than  two  states  being  yet  represented,  agreed,  till  a quorum  of  them  should  be  formed,  to  alter 
the  hour  of  meeting  at  the  State-house  to  one  o’clock.  Dined  at  the  president  Dr.  Franklin’s,  and  drank  tea  and  spent 
the  evening  at  Mr.  John  Penn’s. 

17 th.  — Mr.  Kutledge  from  Charleston,  and  Mr.  Charles  Pinckney  from  Congress,  having  arrived,  gave  a represen- 
tation to  South  Carolina;  and  Colonel  Mason,  getting  in  this  evening,  placed  all  the  delegates  from  Yirginia  on  the 
floor  of  the  Convention.  Dined  at  Mr.  Powel’s  and  drank  tea  there. 

18 th.  — The  representation  from  New  York  appeared  on  the  floor  to-day.  Dined  at  Gray’s  Ferry,  and  drank  tea  at 
Mr.  Morris’s;  after  which  accompanied  Mrs.  Morris  and  some  other  ladies  to  hear  a Mrs.  O’Connell  read.  The  lady, 
being  reduced  in  circumstances,  had  recourse  to  this  expedient  to  obtain  a little  money.  Her  performance  was  tolera- 
ble ; at  the  College  Hall. 

19 th.  — No  more  states  represented.  Dined  at  Mr.  Ingersoll’s ; spent  the  evening  at  my  lodgings,  and  retired  to  my 
room  soon. 

20 th.  — Dined  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  and  other  company  at  their  farm,  called  the  Hills ; returned  in  the  after- 
noon, and  drank  tea  at  Mr.  Powel’s. 

21s?.  — Delaware  state  was  represented.  Dined  and  drank  tea  at  Mr.  Bingham's  in  great  splendor. 

22c?.  — The  representation  from  North  Carolina  was  completed,  which  made  a representation  for  five  states.  Dined 
and  drank  tea  at  Mr.  Morris’s. 

23c?.  — No  more  states  being  represented,  I rode  to  General  Mifflin's  to  breakfast;  after  which,  in  company  with 
him,  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  Butledge,  and  others,  I crossed  the  Schuylkill  above  the  Falls;  visited  Mr.  Peters's, Mr. Penn’s 
seat,  and  Mr.  William  Hamilton’s.  Dined  at  Mr.  Chew’s  with  the  wedding  guests  (Colonel  Howard  of  Baltimore 
having  married  his  daughter  Peggy).  Drank  tea  there  in  a very  large  circle  of  ladies. 

24 th.  — No  more  states  represented.  Dined  and  drank  tea  at  Mr.  John  Boss’s.  One  of  my  postillion  boys  (Paris) 
being  sick,  requested  Dr.  Jones  to  attend  him. 

25 th.  — Another  delegate  coming  in  from  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  gave  it  a representation,  and  increased  the  num- 
ber to  seven,  which  forming  a quorum  of  the  thirteen,  the  members  present  resolved  to  organize  the  body ; when,  by 
a unanimous  vote,  I was  called  up  to  the  chair  as  president.  Major  William  Jackson  was  appointed  secretary;  and  a 
committee  was  chosen,  consisting  of  three  members,  to  prepare  rules  and  regulations  for  conducting  the  business; 
and,  after  appointing  door-keepers,  the  convention  adjourned  till  Monday,  to  give  time  to  the  committee  to  report  the 
matter  referred  to  them.  Eeturned  many  visits  to-day.  Dined  at  Mr.  Thomas  Willing's,  and  spent  the  evening  at 
my  lodgings. 


President  of  Pennsylvania. 


APPENDIX. 


483 


26 th. — Returned  nil  my  visits  this  forenoon.  Dined  with  a club  at  the  City  Tavern,  and  spent  the  evening  at  my 
quarters  writing  letters. 

11th.  — "Went  to  the  Romish  church  to  high  mass.  Dined,  drank  tea,  and  spent  the  evening  at  my  lodgings. 

2S th.  — Met  in  convention  at  ten  o’clock.  Two  states  more,  namely,  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  were  on  the 
floor  to-day.  Established  rules,  agreeably  to  the  plan  brought  in  by  the  committee  for  the  government  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  adjourned.  Dined  at  home,  and  drank  tea  in  a large  circle  at  Mr.  Francis's. 

11th.  — Attended  Convention,  and  dined  at  home ; after  which  accompanied  Mrs.  Morris  to  the  benefit  concert  of  a 
Mr.  Juhan. 

30 th.  — Attended  Convention ; dined  with  Mr.  Vaughan ; drank  tea,  and  spent  the  evening  at  a Wednesday  even- 
ing's party  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence’s. 

31st.  — The  state  of  Georgia  came  on  the  floor  of  the  Convention  to-day,  which  made  a representation  of  ten  states. 
Dined  at  Mr.  Francis’s,  and  drank  tea  with  Mrs.  Meredith. 

June  1st.  — Attending  in  Convention ; and,  nothing  being  suffered  to  transpire,  no  minutes  of  the  proceedings  have 
been,  or  will  be,  inserted  in  this  diary.  Dined  with  Mr.  John  Penn,  and  spent  the  evening  at  a superb  entertainment 
at  Bush  Hill  given  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  at  which  were  more  than  a hundred  guests. 

Id.  — Major  Jenifer  coming  in,  with  sufficient  powers  for  the  purpose,  gave  a representation  to  Maryland ; which 
brought  all  the  states  in  the  Union  into  Convention,  except  Rhode  Island,  which  had  refused  to  send  delegates.  Dined 
at  the  City  Tavern  with  the  club,  and  spent  the  evening  at  my  own  quarters. 


IV. 

FRENCH  CRITICISMS  OF  AMERICAN  MANNERS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  LAST 

CENTURY. 

The  Memoires  of  the  Marshal  Count  de  Rochambeau,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  America,  are  for 
the  most  part  military,  but  he  has  left  us  a few  paragraphs  on  society.  He  says : 

“The  first  act  of  Congress  was  to  exclude  from  political  as  well  as  civil  assemblies  all  ecclesiastics  without  excep- 
tion. The  ministers  were  forced  in  many  communes  to  abandon  their  churches,  and  it  was  not  until  peace  that  several 
of  them,  having  got  themselves  consecrated  by  the  Lutheran  bishops  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  were  reinstated  in 
their  livings;  by  these  precautions,  religion  was  prevented  from  taking  a part  in  political  deliberation  ; every  one  pro- 
fessed his  own  religion  with  exactitude ; the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day  was  scrupulously  observed.  At  all  public 
feasts  the  minister  of  religion  held  the  first  place;  he  blessed  the  repast;  but  his  prerogatives  in  society  extended  no 
further.  Such  preamble  must  naturally  lead  to  pure  and  simple  manners.  Hospitality  is  the  virtue  the  most  generally 
observed.  Young  women  are  free  till  their  marriage.  The  first  question  addressed  to  a young  woman  is  whether  she 
be  married ; if  she  be,  there  the  conversation  rests.  It  is  not  uncommon  that,  at  the  age  of  womanhood,  they  accom- 
pany their  father  and  mother  to  church,  although  they  have  not  yet  made  choice  of  any  particular  religion;  if  you 
ask  them  why,  they  say  that  they  will  follow  the  same  religion  as  their  husband.  But  when  they  have  once  entered 
the  state  of  matrimony,  they  give  themselves  up  entirely  to  it,  and  you  seldom  see.  particularly  in  the  rural  districts, 
a woman  of  loose  manners.  Children  are,  generally  speaking,  kept  extremely  clean.  A settler  is,  at  home,  neither  a 
lord  of  a manor  nor  a farmer;  he  is  a proprietor  in  a full  sense  of  the  word,  possessing  the  quantum  sufficit  of  his 
necessaries,  and  he  lays  out  the  overplus  of  his  crops  in  the  purchases  of  good  and  comfortable  clothing,  without  any 
of  the  exterior  appendages  of  luxury.  The  same  simplicity  is  observed  with  regard  to  his  furniture,  and  unblemished 
cleanliness  is  its  principal  merit;  but  it  is  not  without  difficulty  that  the  American  settler  arrives  at  this  state. 

“ I will  now  explain  in  what  manner  these  settlements  were  formed  in  the  origin,  and  how  they  still  continue  to 
be  formed.  Whereas  there  is  much  more  land  to  be  cleared  than  there  are  hands  to  cultivate  it,  laborers  are  in  great 
demand ; a cultivator  or  day  laborer  earned,  in  my  time,  a piaster  of  five  livres  ten  sous  per  diem.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon that  a laborer,  who  works  assiduously  for  the  space  of  six  years  on  an  average,  can  accumulate  a sufficient  sum 
to  purchase  a piece  of  ground.  They  commence  by  firing  the  forests,  which  operation  they  call  clearing.  They  next 
sow  in  the  furrows  every  kind  of  seed,  which  grows  with  great  abundance  on  a layer  of  rotten  leaves,  reduced  to  a 
vegetable  soil  formed  at  the  expiration  of  many  years.  They  then  build  their  habitation  with  the  round  branches  of 
the  trees,  piled  one  upon  another,  and  propped  up  by  stakes.  They  enclose  their  fields  with  barriers,  according  to 
their  different  destinations.  They  take  care  to  reserve  pens,  covered  over  with  leaves,  to  protect  their  cattle  from  the 
rain  and  heavy  dew,  wherein  the  animals  are  enabled  to  pass  the  night  at  large.  At  the  expiration  of  twenty  or  thirty 
years,  when  they  have  succeeded  in  fully  clearing  the  ground,  they  proceed  to  build  more  tidy  and  comfortable  houses 
with  planks  cleverly  joined,  and  wrought  with  great  art.  But  little  iron  is  used  in  these  constructions ; the  doors  and 
windows  being  made  to  fit  with  remarkable  precision  by  their  skilful  carpenters.  At  length,  twenty  or  thirty  years 
later,  the  family’s  circumstances  become  more  easy,  and  they  then  remove  to  a brick  house,  the  complement  of  their 
architecture.  The  latter  is  composed  of  a kind  of  open  hall  or  verandah,  a neat  drawing-room,  which  is  not  scantily 
supplied  with  fuel  during  the  colder  months,  and  a kitchen  next  to  it.  The  family  sit  all  the  day  in  their  drawing- 
room ; they  take  four  meals  per  day,  interrupted  only  by  moderate  labor,  and  a little  negro  is  incessantly  occupied  in 
spreading  and  clearing  away  the  cloth.  The  bedrooms,  with  very  clean  and  comfortable  bedding,  are  situated  on  the 
first  story,  and  their  walls  are  whitewashed  regularly  every  year.  In  the  large  towns,  luxury  has  made  more  progress ; 
rich  merchants  and  bankers  have  provided  their  residence  with  costly  English  furniture;  their  ladies  are  clad  to  the 
fcip  of  the  French  faahions,  of  which  they  are  remarkably  fond.” 

55 


434 


APPENDIX. 


The  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  whose  Voyage  dans  1’  Ameriquc  has  been  frequently  quoted  in  th« 
preceding  pages,  has  many  observations  on  the  peculiarities  of  American  manners,  some  of  which 
are  entertaining.  Describing  a dinner  at  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne’s,  he  says : 

“Tlie  dinner  was  served  in  the  American,  or  if  you  will,  in  the  English  fashion;  consisting  of  two  courses,  one 
comprehending  the  entrees,  the  roast  meat,  and  the  warm  side  dishes;  the  other,  the  sweet  pastry  and  confectionery. 
When  this  is  removed,  the  cloth  is  taken  off,  and  apples,  nuts,  and  chestnuts  are  served : it  is  then  that  healths  are 
drank ; the  coffee  which  comes  afterwards  serves  as  a signal  to  rise  from  table.  These  healths,  or  toasts,  as  I have 
already  observed,  have  no  inconvenience,  and  only  serve  to  prolong  the  conversation,  which  is  always  more  animated 
at  the  end  of  the  repast;  they  oblige  you  to  commit  no  excess,  wherein  they  greatly  differ  from  the  German  healths, 
and  from  those  we  still  give  in  our  garrisons  and  provinces.  But  I find  it  an  absurd  and  truly  barbarous  practice,  the 
first  time  you  drink,  and  at  the  beginning  of  dinner,  to  call  out  successively  to  each  individual,  to  let  him  know  you 
drink  his  health.  The  actor  in  this  ridiculous  comedy  is  sometimes  ready  to  die  with  thirst,  whilst  he  is  obliged  to 
inquire  the  names,  or  catch  the  eyes  of  five  and  twenty  or  thirty  persons,  and  the  unhappy  persons  to  whom  he  ad- 
dresses himself,  with  impatience,  for  it  is  certainly  not  possible  for  them  to  bestow  a very  great  attention  to  what  they 
,-tre  eating,  and  what  is  said  to  them,  being  incessantly  called  to  on  the  right  and  left,  or  pulled  by  the  sleeve  by  chari- 
table neighbors,  who  are  so  kind  as  to  acquaint  them  with  the  politeness  they  are  receiving.  The  most  civil  of  the 
Americans  are  not  content  with  this  general  call ; every  time  they  drink  they  make  partial  ones,  for  example,  four  or 
five  persons  at  a time.  Another  custom  completes  the  despair  of  poor  foreigners,  if  they  be  ever  so  little  absent,  or 
have  good  appetites:  these  general  and  partial  attacks  terminate  in  downiight  duels.  They  call  to  you  from  one  end 
of  the  table  to  the  other : Sir,  will  you  permit  me  to  drink,  a glass  of  wine  with  yout  This  proposal  always  is  ac- 
cepted, and  does  not  admit  the  excuse  of  the  Great-Cousin,  one  does  not  drink  without  being  acquainted.  The 
bottle  is  then  passed  to  you,  and  you  must  look  your  enemy  in  the  face,  for  I can  give  no  other  name  to  the  man  who 
exercises  such  an  empire  over  my  will : you  wait  till  he  likewise  has  poured  out  his  wine,  and  taken  his  glass;  you 
then  drink  mournfully  with  him,  as  a recruit  imitates  the  corporal  in  his  exercise.  But  to  do  justice  to  the  Ameri 
cans,  they  themselves  feel  the  ridicule  of  these  customs  borrowed  from  old  England,  and  since  laid  aside  by  her. 
They  proposed  to  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  to  dispense  with  them,  knowing  that  his  example  would  have  great 
weight;  but  he  thought  proper  to  conform,  and  he  did  right.  The  more  the  French  are  known  to  be  in  possession  of 
giving  their  customs  to  other  nations,  the  more  should  they  avoid  the  appearance  of  changing  those  of  the  Americans. 
Happy  our  nation  if  her  ambassadors  and  her  travellers  had  always  so  correct  an  understanding,  and  if  they  never 
lose  sight  of  this  observation,  that  of  all  men,  the  dancing-master  should  have  the  most  negligent  air ! ” 

Of  dancing  and  music : 

“ Dancing  is  said  to  be  at  once  the  emblem  of  gayety  and  of  love ; here  it  seems  to  be  the  emblem  of  legislation,  aud 
of  marriage ; of  legislation,  inasmuch  as  places  are  marked  out,  the  country  dances  named,  and  every  proceeding  pro- 
vided for,  calculated,  and  submitted  to  regulation ; of  marriage,  as  it  furnishes  each  lady  with  a partner,  with  whom 
she  dances  the  whole  evening,  without  being  allowed  to  take  another.  It  is  true  that  every  severe  law  requires  miti- 
gation, and  that  it  often  happens,  that  a young  lady  after  dancing  the  two  or  three  first  dances  with  her  partner,  may 
make  a fresh  choice,  or  accept  of  the  invitation  she  has  received ; but  still  the  comparison  holds  good,  for  it  is  a mar- 
riago  in  the  European  fashion.  Strangers  have  generally  the  privilege  of  being  complimented  with  the  handsomest 
women.  The  Comte  de  Dumas  had  Mrs.  Bingham  for  his  partner,  and  the  Yicomte  de  Noailles,  Miss  Shippen.  Both 
of  them,  like  true  philosophers,  testified  a great  respect  for  the  manners  of  the  country,  by  not  quitting  their  hand- 
some partners  the  whole  evening ; in  other  respects  they  were  the  admiration  of  all  the  assembly,  from  the  grace  and 
nobleness  with  which  they  danced;  I may  even  assert,  to  the  honor  of  my  country,  that  they  surpassed  a Chief  Jus- 
tice of  Carolina  (Mr.  Pendleton)  and  two  members  of  Congress,  one  of  whom  (Mr.  Duane)  passed  however  for  being 
by  ten  per  cent,  more  lively  than  all  the  other  dancers.  The  ball  was  suspended,  towards  midnight,  by  a supper, 
served  in  the  manner  of  coffee,  on  several  different  tables.  On  passing  into  the  dining  room,  the  Chevalier  de  la  Lu- 
zerne presented  his  hand  to  Mrs.  Morris,  and  gave  her  the  precedence,  an  honor  pretty  generally  bestowed  on  her,  as 
she  is  the  richest  woman  in  the  city,  and  all  ranks  here  being  equal,  men  follow  their  natural  bent,  by  giving  the 

preference  to  riches When  music  aud  the  fine  arts  come  to  prosper  at  Philadelphia;  when  society  once  becomes 

easy  and  gay  there,  and  they  learn  to  accept  of  pleasure  when  it  presents  itself,  without  a formal  invitation,  then  may 
foreigners  enjoy  all  the  advantages  peculiar  to  their  manners  and  government,  without  envying  any  thing  in  Europe.” 

Of  elegance  in  dress,  and  its  influences : 

“ What  I am  about  to  say  should  only  be  whispered  in  your  ear.  I am  going  to  handle  a delicate  subject : I am  ven- 
turing to  touch  the  ark.  But  be  assured,  that  during  a three  years  residence  in  America,  the  progress  of  the  women's 
dress  has  not  escaped  me.  If  I have  enjoyed  this  as  a feeling  man,  if  the  results  of  this  progress  have  not  been  viewed 
by  me  with  an  indifferent  eye,  my  time  of  life  and  character  are  a pledge  to  you  that  I have  observed  them  as  a phi- 
losopher. Well,  it  is  in  this  capacity  I undertake  their  defence,  hut  so  long  only  as  things  are  not  carried  to  an  excess. 
The  virtue  of  the  women,  which  is  more  productive  of  happiness,  even  for  the  men,  than  all  the  enjoyments  of  vice, 
if  there  be  any  real  pleasures  arising  from  that  source;  the  virtue  of  the  women,  I say,  has  two  bucklers  of  defence ; 
one  is  retirement,  and  distance  from  all  danger ; this  is  the  hidden  treasure  mentioned  by  Eochefoucauld,  which  is  un- 
touched because  it  is  undiscovered.  The  other  is  loftiness,  a sentiment  always  noble  in  its  relation  to  ourselves.  Let 
them  learn  to  appreciate  themselves ; let  them  rise  in  their  own  estimation,  and  rely  on  that  estimable  pride  for  the 
preservation  of  their  virtue  as  well  as  of  their  fame.  • They  who  love  only  pleasure,  corrupt  the  sex,  whom  they  con- 
vert only  into  an  instrument  of  their  voluptuousness ; they  who  love  women,  render  them  better  by  rendering  them 


APPENDIX. 


435 


more  amiable.  But,  you  will  say,  is  it  by  dress,  and  by  exterior  charms,  that  they  must  establish  their  empire  ? Yes, 
sir,  every  woman  ought  to  seek  to  please;  this  is  the  weapon  conferred  on  her  by  Nature  to  compensate  the  weakness 
of  her  sex.  "Without  this  she  is  a slave,  and  can  a slave  have  virtues  ? Eemember  the  word  decus,  of  which  we  have 
formed  decency ; its  original  import  is  ornament.  A filthy  and  negligent  woman  is  not  decent,  she  cannot  inspire 
respect  1 have  already  allowed  myself  to  express  my  opinion  by  my  wishes  ; I desire,  then,  that  all  the  American 
women  may  be  well  dressed ; but  I have  no  objection  to  seeing  that  dress  simple.  They  are  not  formed  to  represent 
the  severity  of  the  legislation ; neither  ought  they  to  contrast  with  it,  and  convey  a tacit  insult  on  that  severity.  Gold, 
silver,  and  diamonds,  then,  should  be  banished  from  American  dress ; what  excuse  can  there  be  for  a luxury  which  is 
not  becoming  ? But  this  indulgence,  which  I have  expressed  for  the  toilet  of  the  women,  I am  far  from  allowing  to 
the  men.  X am  not  afraid  to  say,  that  I should  have  a very  bad  opinion  of  them,  if  in  a country  where  there  are  nei- 
ther etiquette  nor  titles,  nor  particular  distinctions,  they  should  ever  give  in  to  the  luxury  of  dress ; a luxury,  which 
even  the  French  have  laid  aside,  except  on  marriages  and  entertainments,  and  which  no  longer  exists  any  where  but 
in  Germany  and  Italy,  where  certainly  you  will  not  go  in  search  of  models.” 

PniLip  Mazzei  is  now  little  known  in  this  country  except  as  one  of  the  confidential  correspond- 
ents of  Mr.  Jefferson.  He  was  horn  in  Tuscany  in  1730,  and,  after  a career  of  various  adven- 
ture, came  to  America  in  1773,  with  a small  party  of  his  countrymen,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing 
into  Virginia  the  culture  of  the  grape,  the  olive,  and  other  fruits  of  Italy.  In  the  revolution  he 
took  an  active  part  in  support  of  our  independence.  In  1783  he  returned  to  Europe;  in  1785 
he  came  a second  time  to  America,  and  in  1788  he  wrote  in  Paris  his  Recherches  Historiques  et 
Politiques  sur  les  JStats-Unis  de  FAmerique  Septentrionale,  in  four  volumes.  This  work  has  never 
been  translated.  He  was  subsequently  privy  councillor  of  the  king  of  Poland,  <fcc.,  and  died  in 
1810.  In  his  Recherches  he  presents  some  curious  details  of  manners  in  Virginia,  and,  replying 
to  certain  passages  by  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  says : 

“ The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  states  that  ‘the  wealthiest  people  give  but  a very  moderate  dower  to  their  daugh- 
ters; and  that,  in  consequence,  depending  on  her  personal  attractions  to  win  a husband,  a girl  is  often  a coquette  and 
intriguer,  and  a married  woman  sad  and  moping.’  It  is  true,  as  the  marquis  says,  that  dowers  in  America  are  quite 
moderate.  His  mistake  is  in  the  consequences  which  he  deduces  from  this  fact  In  America,  as  indeed  in  every  other 
nation,  the  usages  of  society  are  peculiar  to  the  country;  thus,  among  our  own  people,  young  men  and  women  may 
meet  at  any  hour  of  the  day:  hence  they  have  little  opportunity  to  assume  and  sustain  a disguise;  in  other  countries, 
where  they  pass  but  little  time  together,  each  one  takes  care  to  display  his  good  qualities  and  to  conceal  his  bad  ones; 
here,  their  object  is  to  become  acquainted  with  each  other's  character ; they  marry  only  when  they  are  mutually 
suited,  and  are  rarely  doomed  to  disappointment  in  the  sequel,  there  having  been  no  effort  on  the  part  of  either  to 
deceive.  You  never  hear  it  remarked  that  such  a man  is  attracted  to  a young  woman  merely  because  she  is  beauti- 
ful, and  it  is  not  rare  that  a girl  refuses  a young  man  whoso  fine  person  and  large  estate  are  his  only  recommendations. 
Coquetry,  properly  speaking,  is  not  known  here;  the  slightest  practice  of  it  would  tarnish  a young  woman’s  reputa- 
tion; yet  it  is  not  surprising  that  our  traveller  has  been  deceived  on  this  subject  Any  European  visiting  this  coun- 
try, without  the  means  of  forming  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  people  in  their  own  homes,  would  be  liable  to 
fall  into  a similar  error  — the  first  impressions  which  a stranger  receives  abroad  are  so  greatly  modified  by  bis  recollec- 
tion of  the  peculiar  habits  of  his  own  nation.  In  America  it  would  be  deemed  a great  indelicacy  in  a woman  to 
show  her  legs  two  or  three  inches  above  her  ankles.  This  would  appear  like  affectation  in  many  parts  of  Europe ; 
in  some  of  the  Greek  islands  it  would  be  ridiculous  in  a woman  to  have  her  skirts  extend  below  her  knees.  In  Eng- 
land, even  among  the  better  class,  one  is  not  shocked  1 1 see  a person  cut  his  finger  nails  in  company;  any  where  else 
such  a liberty  would  be  thought  extremely  indecorous.  Among  certain  European  communities  a young  woman  is 
obliged  to  be  very  reserved  with  the  men,  especially  with  young  men.  Once  married  she  is  no  longer  under  the 
slightest  restraint.  In  America,  on  the  contrary,  young  women  are  affable  with  young  men,  and  married  women  are 
reserved,  and  their  husbands  are  not  as  familiar  with  the  girls  as  they  were  when  bachelors.  If  a yonng  man  were 
to  take  it  into  his  head  that  his  betrothed  should  not  be  free  and  gay  in  her  social  intercourse,  he  would  run  the  risk 
of  being  discarded,  incur  the  reputation  of  jealousy,  and  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  get  married.  Yet  if  a single 
woman  were  to  play  the  coquette  she  would  be  regarded  with  contempt.  As  this  innocent  freedom  between  the 
sexes  diminishes  in  proportion  as  society  loses  its  purity  and  simplicity  of  manners,  as  is  the  case  in  cities,  I desire 
sincerely  that  our  good  Virginia  ladies  may  long  retain  their  liberty  entire. 

“ In  regard  to  married  women,  their  household  duties  prevent  them  from  spending  much  of  their  time  in  general 
society,  but  their  reserve  has  in  it  nothing  of  sadness,  although  a stranger  might  judge  differently,  especially  if  he 
came  from  a country  where  women  havo  their  own  way.  Our  women  are  free  and  affable  in  proportion  to  the  ac- 
quaintance which  they  have  with  the  persons  with  whom  they  converse. 

“Young  women,  whose  position  in  life  relieves  them  from  any  domestic  duties,  often  get  up  parties  of  pleasure, 
to  ride  on  horseback,  from  one  house  to  another,  through  woods  and  over  rivers,  stopping  at  different  places  to  take 
rest  as  they  require  it,  and  have  a dance  as  often  as  they  can.  They  go  on,  increasing  their  party  by  taking  with  them 
girls  from  the  different  houses  which  they  visit.  These  excursions  often  extend  to  a hundred  leagues  or  more,  and 
last  several  months.  The  managers  endeavor  to  have  as  many  young  men  with  them  as  possible,  and  the  gallant  who 
cannot  himself  be  of  the  party  imagines  that  his  lady-love  should  give  it  up  at  once.  Jealousy  is  regarded  as  a des- 
picable vice,  and  no  one  exhibits  it  unless  he  has  the  best  grounds  for  it.  In  those  things  which  depend  entirely  on 
tustom,  no  nation  has  a right  to  criticise  another. 


436 


APPENDIX. 


It  is  not  my  pur;*  s:  to  analyze  the  ‘Travels  of  the  Marquis  de  Cbasteliux,’  but  simply  to  rectify  some  inaccu 
racies  which  tend  to  give  an  erroneous  idea,  not  only  of  the  moral®,  but  also  of  the  manners,  of  the  people  of  tbit 
country.  I shall  close  with  a single  observation  on  what  this  author  has  said  on  the  subject  of  precedence.  In  de- 
scribing a ball  at  Philadelphia,  he  says,  ‘The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  gave  his  arm  to  Madam  Morris,  to  lead  her  hist 
into  the  supper-room  — she  being  the  richest  woman  in  the  city;  for  here,  where  there  is  no  distinction  in  rank,  pre- 
cedence is  generally  given  to  wealth.’  Now,  precedence  for  men  is  regulated  by  the  place  which  they  occupy  in  the 
state;  in  public,  it  is  decided  by  law;  in  private,  by  custom.  Women  share  the  distinction  of  their  husbands.  An 
American  in  reading  this  account  by  the  marquis  would  not  be  deceived ; from  the  precedence  yielded  to  Mrs.  Morris 
he  would  understand  that  the  wife  of  the  President  of  Congress  was  not  at  the  fete,  nor  yet  the  wife  of  the  President 
of  Pennsylvania,  nor  the  wife  of  the  Speaker  of  the  General  Assembly.” 

The  Abbe  Robin,  whose  description  of  Washington  is  quoted  in  a preceding  page,  gives  us  in 
his  Nouveau  Voyage  dans  V Ameriquc,  the  following  views  of  society ; 

“ Piety  is  not  the  only  motive  which  induces  American  women  to  be  constant  in  their  attendance  at  church.  Hav- 
ing no  places  of  public  amusement,  no  fashionable  promenades,  they  go  to  church  to  display  their  fine  dress.  They 
often  appear  there  clothed  in  silks,  and  sometimes  covered  with  superb  ornaments.  They  wear  their  hair  dressed  very 
high  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  in  imitation  of  the  fashion  which  prevailed  among  our  French  women  some  years 
since,  or  something  after  the  style  of  the  French  women  of  the  olden  time.  Instead  of  powder  they  use  a kind  of 
eau  de  savon,  to  make  the  hair  glossy.  This  is  frequently  not  unbecoming,  the  hair  being  of  a very  pretty  blonde. 
The  most  recherchees  however  aro  beginning  to  adopt  European  fashions.  They  are  tall  and  well  proportioned ; their 
features  are  generally  regular;  their  complexion  is  very  fair  and  without  color;  they  have  less  ease  and  grace,  but 
a more  noble  bearing  than  French  ladies;  indeed,  I have  noticed  in  many  of  them,  something  of  the  loftiness  which 
characterizes  some  of  the  clief-d'oeuvres  of  the  old  artists.  The  men  are  proportionally  large,  finely  formed,  and  little 
inclined  to  embonpoint.  Their  complexion  is  slightly  pale.  They  are  less  fashionable  in  their  dress  than  the  women, 
yet  they  are  very  neat  At  twenty  years  of  age  the  women  have  no  longer  the  freshness  of  youth.  At  thirty-five  or 
forty  they  are  wrinkled  and  decrepit.  The  men  are  almost  as  premature.  Hence  I have  presumed  that  the  average 
length  of  life  must  be  less  in  this  country  than  it  is  in  Europe.  With  a view  to  ascertain  if  this  supposition  be  correct, 

I have  visited  all  the  church-yards  of  Boston,  where  it  is  customary  to  inscribe  on  the  head-stone  of  each  grave  the 
name  and  age  of  the  deceased.  I have  found  that  the  majority  of  those  who  arrived  at  manhood  died  under  the  age 
of  fifty.  I have  seen  very  few  of  sixty,  scarcely  any  of  seventy,  and  I have  not  met  one  beyond  seventy. 

“ As  we  advance  towards  the  south,  we  find  a very  sensible  difference  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people. 
In  Connecticut  the  houses  are  placed  on  the  public  roads,  at  small  intervals,  and  barely  large  enough  to  accommodate 
a single  family,  and  are  furnished  in  the  most  plain  and  simple  manner;  but  here  are  spacious,  isolated  habitations, 
consisting  of  several  edifices,  built  in  the  centre  of  a plantation,  and  so  remote  from  the  public  road  as  to  be  lost  to 

the  view  of  travellers.  These  plantations  are  cultivated  by  negroes The  furniture  of  the  houses  here,  is  of  the 

most  costly  wood,  and  the  rarest  marble,  enriched  and  decorated  by  artists;  they  have  light  and  elegant  carriages, 
which  are  drawn  by  fine  horses ; the  coachmen  are  slaves,  and  are  richly  dressed.  There  appears  to  be  more  wealth 
and  luxury  in  Annapolis  than  in  any  other  city  which  I have  visited  in  this  country.  The  extravagance  of  the  women 
here  surpasses  that  of  our  own  provinces;  a French  hair-dresser  is  a man  of  great  importance;  one  lady  here  pays  to 
her  coiffeur  a salary  of  a thousand  crowns.  This  little  city,  which  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Severn  river,  contains  sev- 
eral handsome  edifices.  The  state-house  is  the  finest  in  the  country ; its  front  is  ornamented  with  columns,  and  the 
building  surmounted  by  a dome.  There  is  also  a theatre  here.  Annapolis  is  a place  of  considerable  shipping.  The 
climate  is  the  most  delightful  in  the  world, 

Tlie  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  Liancourt,  in  the  eighth  volume  of  his  Voyage  dans  les  Etats 
Unis,  presents  a summary  of  his  views  of  the  social  life  of  the  Americans,  as  follows; 

“ If  I have  been  severely  exact  in  representing  an  excessive  avidity  of  becoming  rich,  as  the  common  characteristic 
of  the  American  people,  and  especially  in  the  inhabitants  of  cities,  I shall  be  as  exactly  just  in  adding  that  this  dispo- 
sition does  not  hurry  them  on  to  avarice.  Without  being  profuse,  or  forgetting  the  interest  of  their  families,  they  know 
how  to  be  at  proper  times  expensive,  even  with  ostentation,  and  they  do  not  refuse  to  assist  the  unfortunate,  when 

proper  opportunities  for  it  occur Without  becoming  an  extravagant  enthusiast  of  the  Quakers,  it  is  impossible  not 

to  remark,  that  in  every  place  where  any  beneficent  plan  is  formed  for  the  good  of  humanity,  there  they  are  always 
ready  visitors.  They  are,  perhaps,  as  is  said  of  them,  as  much  engaged  in  the  occnpation  of  amassing  riches,  as  those 
who  do  not  belong  to  their  society;  but  granting  it  to  be  so,  this  does  not  prevent  them  from  applying  themselves, 
upon  every  occasion,  to  acts  of  kindness  and  beneficence.  Their  tenets,  their  principles,  and  their  laws,  rigorously 
prescribe  this  duty;  and  their  constant  inspection  over  their  societies  inures  them  to  it 

“Though  there  be  no  distinctions  acknowledged  by  the  law  in  the  United  States,  fortune  and  the  nature  of  profes 
sions  form  different  classes.  The  merchants,  the  lawyers,  the  land-owners,  who  do  not  cultivate  their  land  themselves 
(and  the  number,  which  is  small  from  the  state  of  Delaware  to  the  north,  is  great  in  the  states  of  the  south),  the  phy- 
sicians, and  the  clergy,  form  the  first  class.  The  inferior  merchants,  the  farmers,  and  the  artisans,  may  be  included  in 
the  second ; and  the  third  class  is  composed  of  workmen,  who  let  themselves  by  the  day,  by  the  month,  <fce.  In  balls, 
concerts,  and  public  amusements,  these  classes  do  not  mix;  and  yet,  except  the  laborer  in  ports,  and  the  common 
sailor,  every  one  calls  himself,  and  is  called  by  others,  a gentleman;  a small  fortune  is  sufficient  for  the  assumption  01 
this  title,  as  it  carries  men  from  one  class  to  another.  They  deceive  themselves  very  much  who  think  that  pure  re- 
publican manners  prevail  in  America.  The  white  American,  by  a pride  which  cannot  be  blamed,  and  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  negroes  being  generally  employed  in  the  service,  is  ashamed  of  the  situation  of  a domestic ; so  that 
there  cannot  bo  rockoned  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  United  States,  twenty  native  Americans  in  the  state  of 


APPENDIX. 


437 


domestic  servants.  Tho  class  of  domestics  in  America  is  composed  of  poor  priests,  Germans,  and  of  negroes  and  mu- 
lattoes;  and  as  soon  as  the  first  have  acquired  a little  money,  they  quit  that  station,  regarded  with  a sort  of  contempt, 
and  establish  themselves  upon  land,  which  they  clear  and  till,  or  in  a small  trade.  In  short,  they  become  independent 
•jf  a master.  The  prejudice  which  causes  the  men  in  America  to  have  so  great  a repugnance  to  the  state  of  domestic 
servitude,  does  not  influence  the  women  in  the  same  degree;  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  see  young  women  of 
good  families,  in  the  situation  of  servants,  during  the  first  years  of  their  youth.  Even  their  parents  engage  them  in 
this  situation  without  shocking  any  ideas.  I have  been  told  by  M.  do  Faubonne,  a Frenchman,  formerly  a captain  in 
•he  regiment  of  Auvergne  (and  whom  the  pride  of  independence  induced  to  take  up  tho  business  of  a gardener  for  the 
support  of  his  family,  though  he  was  forty-sis  years  of  age),  that  he  had  had  in  his  service,  as  maid-servant,  tho  niece 
>f  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  a young  woman  very  honest,  and  well  brought  up.  Similar  examples  are  very 
common. 

“ In  a country  which  has  belonged  to  England  for  a long  time,  of  which  the  most  numerous  and  nearest  connections 
are  yet  with  England,  and  which  carries  on  with  England  almost  all  its  commerce,  the  manners  of  the  people  must 
necessarily  resemble,  in  a great  degree,  those  of  England.  To  the  American  manners  particularly,  those  relative  to 
living  are  the  same  as  in  the  provinces  of  England.  As  to  the  dress,  the  English  fashions  are  as  faithfully  copied,  as 
the  sending  of  merchandise  from  England,  and  the  tradition  of  tailors  and  mantuamakers  will  admit  of.  The  distri- 
bution of  the  apartments  in  their  houses  is  like  that  of  England,  tho  furniture  is  English,  the  town  carriages  are  either 
English,  or  in  the  English  taste;  and  it  is  no  small  merit  among  the  fashionable  world  to  have  a coach  newly  arrived 
from  London,  and  of  the  newest  fashion.  The  cookery  is  English,  and,  as  in  England,  after  dinner,  which  is  not  very 
long,  the  ladies  withdraw,  and  give  place  to  drinking  of  wine  in  full  bumpers,  the  most  prominent  pleasure  of  the  day, 
and  which  it  is,  consequently,  very  natural  to  prolong  as  late  as  possible.  There  are  great  dinners,  numerous  tea  par- 
ties, invited  a long  time  in  advance,  but  no  societies.  So  that  these  tea  assemblies  are  every  where  a fund  of  amuse- 
ment for  the  ladies.  Balls  and  plays  are  much  frequented.  It  is  generally  understood  that  these  kinds  of  dissipation 
belong  only  to  the  towns,  and  particularly  to  large  cities.  Luxury  is  very  high  there,  especially  at  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  and  makes  a dangerous  progress  every  year;  but  easily  to  be  conceived,  since  luxury  is,  in  some  degree, 
the  representation  of  riches,  and  that  wealth  there  is  the  only  distinction.  There  are  some  persons  who  surpass  their 
neighbors,  already  too  far  advanced,  in  luxury ; these  injure  the  manners  of  the  country,  but  while  the  people  censure, 
they  pursue  these  seductive  paths;  and  frequent  and  sumptuous  dinners  are  held  in  as  high  consideration  in  the  new 
as  in  tho  old  world ; and  this  custom  has  its  advantages  very  often.  It  has  been  seen  that  this  consideration  has  raised 
to  the  place  of  temporary  President  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  a man  who  was  not  esteemed  by  any  of  those 
who  elected  him,  or  by  any  other,  either  for  his  talents,  his  qualities,  or  for  his  character,  but  he  entertained  his  friends 
with  sumptuous  dinners.  In  the  other  towns,  and  especially  in  the  country,  luxury  fs  less  prevalent,  but  it  continu- 
ally increases,  and  often  out  of  proportion  with  wealth. 

“The  women  every  where  possess,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  domestic  virtues,  and  all  others;  they  have  more 
sweetness,  more  goodness,  at  least  as  much  courage,  but  more  sensibility,  than  the  men.  Good  wives,  and  good 
mothers,  their  husbands  and  their  children  engage  their  whole  attention ; and  their  household  affairs  occupy  all  their 
time  and  all  their  cares  ; destined  by  the  manners  of  their  country  to  this  domestic  life,  their  education  in  other  re- 
spects is  too  much  neglected.  They  are  amiable  by  their  qualities  and  their  natural  disposition,  but  there  are  very  few 
among  them  who  are  so  from  any  acquired  accomplishments.  What  they  esteem  to  be  virtue  in  wives  is  the  virtue 
of  the  whole  sex ; and  if  in  the  United  States  malice  may  throw  out  her  suspicion  upon  twenty,  there  are  certainly 
not  above  ten  of  them  who  can  be  accused  justly,  and  all  the  rest  treat  these  with  great  rigor. 

“The  young  women  here  enjoy  a liberty,  which  to  French  manners  would  appear  disorderly;  they  go  out  alone, 
walk  with  young  men,  and  depart  with  them  from  the  rest  of  the  company  in  large  assemblies;  in  short,  they  enjoy 
the  same  degree  of  liberty  which  married  women  do  in  France,  and  which  married  women  here  do  not  take.  But 
they  are  far  from  abusing  it;  they  endeavor  to  please,  they  desire  to  obtain  husbands,  and  they  know  that  they  shall 
not  succeed  if  their  conduct  becomes  suspected.  Sometimes  they  are  abused  by  the  men,  who  deceive  them,  but 
then  they  add  not  to  the  misfortune  of  having  engaged  their  hearts  to  a cruel  man  tho  regret  of  deserving  it,  which 
might  give  them  remorse.  When  they  have  obtained  a husband,  they  love  him,  because  he  is  their  husband,  and 
because  they  have  not  an  idea  that  they  can  do  otherwise ; they  revere  custom  by  a kind  of  state  religion,  which 
never  varies. 

“The  Americans  marry  young,  especially  in  the  country : the  occasion  which  the  young  men,  who  generally  estab- 
lish themselves  very  early  either  in  some  new  lands  or  in  some  trade,  have  for  a wife  to  assist  them  in  their  labors, 
conduces  to  these  early  marriages  as  much  as  the  purity  of  manners.  In  the  villages,  marriages  are  less  frequent  and 
not  so  hasty,  especially  since  the  introduction  of  luxury  renders  an  acquired  fortune  more  necessary ; and  tho  young 
men  hardly  feel  the  necessity  of  loving,  with  the  project  of  marriage,  till  they  have  already  satisfied,  or  are  in  the  way 
of  satisfying,  the  more  imperious  necessity  of  gaining  money.  But  however  good  the  marriages  may  be,  the  wife 
who  dies  is  readily  replaced  by  another.  In  the  country  she  is,  as  in  Europe,  a necessary  friend  to  the  management 
of  domestic  affairs  — she  is  the  soul  of  the  family.  In  town  she  is  so  too.  She  is  an  indispensable  resource  for  do- 
mestic affairs,  while  her  husband  is  engaged  in  his  own  affairs,  as  every  one  is  in  America;  she  is  an  assiduous  com- 
panion, and  a society  ever  ready  to  be  found  in  a country  where  there  are  no  other  but  that  of  the  family,  and  where 
the  children  soon  quit  their  paternal  abode. 

' “An  European  coming  into  the  new  world,  and  bringing  with  him  the  need  of  the  usage  of  the  politer  attentions 
of  that  which  he  has  quitted ; he,  above  all,  who  brings  with  him  the  need  of  what  we  call  in  France  the  charms  of 
society,  which  we  know  so  well  how  to  appreciate,  of  which  we  know  how  to  participate,  and  which  affords  us  so 
many  moments  of  happiness,  — such  a man  will  not  find  himself  satisfied  in  America,  and  his  recollections  will  be 
continually  sprinkling  his  life  with  melancholy.  He  cannot,  if  his  heart  has  an  occasion  for  a friend,  hope  to  find 
there  tho  sweetness  of  a constant  and  avowed  friendship.  The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  have  been  hitherto 
too  much  engaged  in  their  respective  occupations  for  the  enticements  of  polished  society,  to  be  able  to  withdraw  their 
attention  from  them ; they  have  not  leisure  to  consecrate  to  friendship. 


438 


APPENDIX 


“Such  an  European  ought  to  have  for  a long  time  forgotten  Europe,  in  order  to  live  quite  happy  in  America. 
But  if  he  can  readily  lose  the  remembrance  of  it,  or  take  with  him  there  the  dearest  objects  of  his  affection,  he  will 
lead  in  America  a happy  and  tranquil  life.  He  will  there  enjoy  the  blessing  of  liberty  in  the  greatest  extent  which  it 
is  possible  to  desire  in  any  polished  country.  Ho  will  see  himself  with  an  active  people,  easy  in  their  circumstances, 
and  happy.  Every  day  will  bring  him  to  observe  a new  progress  of  this  new  country.  He  will  sec  it  every  day  take 
a step  towards  that  strength  and  greatness  to  which  it  is  called;  towards  that  real  independence  which  is  for  a nation 
the  result  of  having  the  means  of  satisfying  itself.” 

Talleyrand’s  descriptions  of  the  American  Woodcutter  and  Fisherman  are  often  quoted  in  the 
original,  as  examples  of  the  extraordinary  mastery  possessed  by  that  celebrated  wit  and  states- 
man over  the  resources  of  his  native  tongue.  Lord  Brougham  remarks  that  “ writers  of  a less 
severe  school  might  envy  their  poetical  effect,  and  learn  from  them,  perhaps,  how  possible  it  is  to 
be  pointed  and  epigrammatic  without  being  affected,  and  sentimental  without  being  mawkish;” 
and  one  of  our  own  critics  has  characterized  these  celebrated  portraits  as,  “ in  the  language  of 
amateurs,  rich  and  sparkling  — pure,  brilliant,  exquisite  cabinet  gems  — but  wholly  works  of 
fancy.”  They  are  from  Talleyrand’s  Memoir  concerning  the  Commercial  Relations  of  the  United 
States  with  Great  Britain : 

“ In  many  districts,  the  sea  and  woods  have  formed  fishermen  and  woodcutters.  Now  such  men,  properly  speak- 
ing, have  no  country;  and  their  social  morality  is  reduced  within  a very  small  compass.  It  has  long  ago  been  said, 
that  man  is  the  disciple  of  that  which  surrounds  him ; and  it  is  true.  Hence,  he  whose  bounds  are  circumscribed  by 
nothing  but  deserts,  cannot  receive  lessons  with  regard  to  the  social  comforts  of  life.  The  idea  of  the  need  which  men 
have  one  of  another,  does  not  exist  in  him  ; and  it  is  merely  by  decomposing  the  trade  which  he  exercises,  that  one 
can  find  out  the  principles  of  his  affections,  and  the  sum  of  his  morality. 

“ The  American  woodcutter  does  not  interest  himself  in  any  thing ; every  sensible  idea  is  remote  from  him.  Thoso 
branches  so  agreeably  disposed  by  nature ; the  beautiful  foliage ; the  bright  color  which  enlivens  one  part  of  the  wood ; 
the  darker  green  which  gives  a melancholy  shade  to  another;  these  things  are  nothing  to  him ; he  pays  them  no  atten- 
tion ; the  number  of  strokes  of  his  axe  required  to  fell  a tree  fills  all  his  thoughts.  He  never  planted ; he  knows  not 
the  pleasure  of  it  A tree  of  his  own  planting  would  be  good  for  nothing  in  his  estimation  ; for  it  would  never,  during 
his  life,  be  large  enough  to  fell.  It  is  by  destruction  that  he  lives;  he  is  a destroyer  wherever  he  goes.  Thus  every 
place  is  equally  good  in  his  eyes  ; he  has  no  attachment  to  the  spot  on  which  he  has  spent  his  labor;  for  his  labor  is 
only  fatigue,  and  is  unconnected  with  any  idea  of  pleasure.  In  the  effects  of  his  toil  he  has  not  witnessed  those  gradu- 
al increases  of  growth,  so  captivating  to  the  planter;  ho  regards  not  the  destination  of  his  productions ; he  knows  not 
ths  charms  of  new  attempts ; and  if,  in  quitting  the  abode  of  many  years,  he  docs  not  by  chance  forget  his  axe,  he 
leaves  no  regret  behind  him. 

“ The  vocation  of  an  American  fisherman  begets  an  apathy,  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  woodcutter.  His  affections, 
his  interests,  his  life,  are  on  the  side  of  that  society  to  which  it  is  thought  that  he  belongs.  But  it  would  be  a preju- 
dice to  suppose  that  he  is  a very  useful  member  of  it  For  we  must  not  compare  these  fishermen  to  those  of  Europe, 
and  think  that  the  fisheries  here,  are,  like  them,  a nursery  for  seamen.  In  America,  with  the  exception  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Nantucket,  who  fish  for  whales,  fishing  is  an  idle  employment.  Two  leagues  from  the  coast,  when  they  have 
no  dread  of  foul  weather,  a single  mile  when  the  wTeather  is  uncertain,  is  the  sum  of  the  courage  which  they  display ; and 
the  line  is  the  only  instrument  with  whose  use  they  are  particularly  acquainted.  Thus  their  knowledge  is  but  a trifling 
trick;  and  their  action,  which  consists  in  constantly  hanging  one  arm  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  is  little  short  of  idle- 
ness. They  are  attached  to  no  place ; their  omy  connection  with  the  land  is  by  means  of  a wretched  house  which  they 
inhabit.  It  is  the  sea  that  affords  them  nourishment ; hence  a few  codfish,  more  or  less,  determine  their  country.  If 
the  number  of  these  seems  to  diminish  in  any  particular  quarter,  they  emigrate  in  search  of  another  country,  where 
they  are  more  abundant.  When  it  was  remarked  by  some  political  writers,  that  fishiug  was  a sort  of  agriculture,  tho 
remark  wras  brilliant  but  not  solid.  All  the  qualities,  all  the  virtues,  which  are  attached  to  agriculture,  are  wanting  in 
the  man  who  lives  by  fishing.  Agriculture  produces  a patriot  in  the  truest  acceptation  of  the  word ; fishing  alone  can 
succeed  in  forming  a cosmopolite.” 

The  Chevalier  Felix  de  Beaujour  was  Consul  General  here,  and  may  have  suffered  in  some 
commercial  transactions  with  Americans.  He  says : 

“Although  honesty  is  not  the  favorite  virtue  of  the  American  merchants,  it  is  not,  as  is  usually  believed  in  Europe, 
entirely  banished  lYom  among  them;  and  we  still  find,  even  amidst  the  corruption  of  their  maritime  cities,  some  per- 
sons of  great  uprightness  and  rigid  probity.  In  the  country,  and  among  the  villagers  embosomed  in  the  wrnods,  con- 
siderable candor  and  good  faith  is  to  be  met  with,  and,  in  general,  good  and  upright  characters  are  hardly  less  frequent 
in  the  United  States,  than  in  other  countries;  but  high  spirited  and  lofty  souls,  generous  and  magnanimous  hearts,  in 
a word,  great  and  noble  characters  are  there  infinitely  rarer  than  in  other  parts,  and  particularly  than  in  the  South  of 
Europe,  where  they  shine  amidst  the  universal  depravity  that  surrounds  them,  like  stars  in  the  obscurity  of  night  If, 
however,  the  Americans  have  none  or  but  few  of  those  eminent  qualities  which  ennoble  human  nature  and  cause  it  to 
be  admired,  they  have  others  which,  although  more  modest,  are  not  less  estimable,  and  which  still  contribute  more  to 
the  happiness  of  life ; such  as  the  love  of  freedom,  of  industry,  of  order,  and  of  cleanliness.  The  American  people 
jincerely  love  liberty,  aDd  they  deserve  to  enjoy  it,  by  their  regard  and  respect  for  the  laws.  The  least  arbitrary  act. 


APPENDIX. 


439 


in  that  country,  would  revolt  the  most  dependent  man ; but  he  obeys  the  meanest  bailiff  who  speaks  iu  the  name  of 
the  law,  and  ho  would  deliver  up  a friend,  a brother,  who  should  seek  to  elude  it.  Very  few  Americans  are  seen  beg- 
ging. and  every  ono  who  is  capable  of  working  for  his  livelihood  would  be  ashamed  to  live  at  the  expense  of  another. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  are  naturally  orderly : and  when  one  enters  into  a house,  even  of  the  lower  classes, 
the  eye  is  agreeably  pleased  with  the  regularity  and  neatness  that  reigns  throughout;  but  what  most  gratifies  a for- 
eigner who  arrives  in  the  United  States,  is  that  oxternal  cleanliness  so  remarkable  every  where,  in  the  streets,  in  the 
houses,  as  well  as  in  the  dress.  Every  body  is  there  decently  clad ; the  men  with  cloth  coats,  tbe  women  with  linen 
gowns,  generally  white;  all  in  a neat  and  clean  manner,  and  nobody  ever  appears  in  public  with  those  offensive  rags 
which  in  other  countries  shock  the  eye.  The  houses,  built  of  bricks  or  wood,  are  always  freshly,  and  often  agreeably 
painted ; and  though  they  are  neither  furnished  nor  decorated  with  luxury  no  requisite  is  wanting,  and  every  thing  is 
kept  tidy  and  clean.  On  entering  them,  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  polish  of  the  furniture,  and  even  the  ex- 
treme cleanliness  of  the  floors.  The  greatest  part  of  the  streets  are  ornamented  with  foot- ways  for  the  convenience  of 
passengers,  and  they  are  all  carefully  swept  and  watered  in  the  hot  season.  In  short,  this  taste  for  cleanliness,  so  gen- 
eral in  the  Americans,  is  even  remarkable  in  the  places  where  they  bury  their  dead.  In  no  country  are  burying- 
grounds  so  neat  and  ornamental  to  be  met  with  ; the  rich  raise  over  their  friends  tombs  of  white  marble,  the  middle 
classes  upright  stones,  and  the  poorest  construct  hillocks,  which  they  cover  with  green  turf.  American  cleanliness 
must  certainly  have  in  it  something  attractive,  since  it  engages  every  traveller  ; not  one  on  returning  to  his  own  coun- 
try fails  to  wish  he  could  there  find  that  air  of  ease  and  cleanliness  which  had  been  so  agreeable  to  his  eye  during  hi3 
residence  in  the  United  States. 

“This  systematic  taste  for  cleanliness,  in  that  country,  as  well  as  every  where  else,  is  accompanied  by  the  most 
happy  effects;  it  is  serviceable  to  health,  diminishes  the  cause  of  sickness,  favors  the  love  of  order  and  economy,  and 
diffuses  among  every  class  of  the  community,  a sentiment  of  dignity  which  becomes  blended  with  all  the  ideas  of 
propriety  and  decency.  It  even  appears,  that  it  favors,  as  much  as  food  and  climate,  the  display  of  tho  human  form. 
And  thus,  indeed,  have  the  Americans  nearly  all  a high  stature,  a good  shape,  a strong  and  well  proportioned  frame,  a 
fresh  and  ruddy  complexion ; but,  in  general,  they  have  little  delicacy  in  their  features,  and  little  expression  in  their 
physiognomy.  Though  few  ugly  men  are  to  be  found  among  them,  still  fewer  really  handsome  ones  are  to  be  seen,  I 
mean  of  that  towering  and  manly  beauty  sometimes  remarked  in  the  South  of  Europe,  and  which  served  as  a model 
to  the  finest  statues  of  the  ancients.  They  are,  for  the  greatest  part,  of  those  tall  forms,  ruddy  and  soft,  such  as  Taci- 
tus describes  the  Germans,  who  frequently  concealed  under  them  no  other  than  an  obtuse  mind  and  soul  devoid  of  en- 
ergy. It  is,  perhaps,  to  this  vice  in  their  physical  constitution,  more  than  to  their  geographical  position,  that  the  eter- 
nal irresolution  of  their  government  is  owing;  but  it  is  to  bo  presumed,  that  their  temperament  will  improve  with 
their  climate,  and  that  the  Americans  will  some  day  or  other  acquire  moro  vivacity  of  mind  and  more  vigor  in  their 
character.  The  women  have  more  of  that  delicate  beauty  which  belongs  to  their  sex,  and,  in  general,  have  finer  fea- 
tures, and  more  expression  in  their  physiognomy.  Their  stature  is  usually  tall,  and  nearly  all  are  possessed  of  a light 
and  airy  shape ; the  breast  high,  a fine  head,  and  their  color  of  a dazzling  whiteness.  Let  us  imagine,  under  this  bril- 
liant form,  the  most  modest  demeanor,  a chaste  and  virginal  air,  accompanied  by  those  simple  and  unaffected  graces 
which  flow  from  artless  nature,  and  we  may  have  an  idea  of  their  style  of  beauty ; but  this  beauty  passes,  and  fades  in 
a moment.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  their  form  changes,  and  at  thirty,  tho  whole  of  their  charms  have  disappeared. 
As  long  as  they  are  unmarried  they  enjoy  the  greatest  liberty,  but  as  soon  as  they  have  entered  the  conjugal  6tate 
they  bury  themselves  in  the  bosom  of  their  families,  and  appear  no  longer  to  live,  but  for  their  husbands.  If,  how- 
ever, they  thus  contribute  less  to  the  pleasures  of  society,  they  nevertheless  increase  those  of  wedlock,  which  makes 
the  American  wives  both  thrifty  and  faithful,  divested  of  the  vices  of  their  husbands,  and  possessing  all  their  virtues. 

“ With  this  species  of  existence  are  the  people  of  the  United  States  destined  to  bo  more  happy  than  those  of  Europe? 
This  is  not  easy  to  decide,  because  this  question,  which  is  very  simple  under  one  head,  becomes  complicated  under  an 
infinite  number  of  others.  In  the  first  place,  the  Americans  in  domestic  lifo  have  more  means  of  happiness;  but  in 
social  life  have  less;  and  if  they  almost  live  without  pain,  they  also  nearly  live  without  pleasure.  They  do  not  know 
the  art  of  multiplying  or  varying  their  enjoyments,  and  the  monotony  of  their  existence  resembles  the  silence  of  tho 
tombs. 

“ In  Europe  the  equality  that  reigns  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  has  been  greatly  blazoned  forth ; 
but  this  equality  is  less  real  than  apparent,  because  the  manners  have  there  established  in  society  distinctions  moro 
pointed  than  any  where  else;  distinctions  rendered  the  more  odious  from  being  founded  on  riches,  without  any  regard 
to  talents  or  even  to  public  functions.  There  the  rich  blockhead  is  more  considered  than  the  first  magistrate,  and  tho 
influence  of  gold  is  there  counterbalanced  by  no  illusion  or  reality.  In  that  country  there  exists  no  other  than  an  ex- 
treme liberty  or  extreme  dependence;  every  one  is  there  either  master  or  servant,  and  scarcely  any  of  those  inter- 
mediate classes  are  to  be  found,  which,  by  their  services,  bind  all  tho  members  of  a great  community  to  each  other." 

M.  Yolney  abstains  from  any  general  commentary  on  American  manners,  but  bas  some  sharp 
observations  on  our  dietetics,  which  he  thinks  demand  the  interference  of  the  government : 

“ It  is  an  important  duty  of  the  government  to  enlighten  their  people  as  to  the  consequences  of  that  pernicious 
diet,  which  they  have  borrowed  from  their  ancestors,  the  Germans  and  English.  We  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  if  a 
premium  were  offered  for  a regimen  most  destructive  to  the  teeth,  the  stomach,  and  the  health  in  general,  none  could 
be  devised  more  efficacious  for  these  ends  than  that  in  use  among  this  people.  At  breakfast  they  deluge  the  stomach 
with  a pint  of  hot  water,  slightly  impregnated  with  tea,  or  slightly  tinctured,  or  rather  colored,  with  coffee ; and  they 
swallow,  almost  without  mastication,  hot  bread,  half  baked,  soaked  in  melted  butter,  with  the  grossest  cheese,  and  salt 
or  hung  beef,  pickled  pork  or  fish,  all  which  can  with  difficulty  be  dissolved.  At  dinner  they  devour  boiled  pastes, 
called,  absurdly,  puddings,  garnished  with  the  most  luscious  sauces.  Their  turnips  and  other  vegetables  are  floated  in 
lard  or  butter.  Their  pastry  is  nothing  but  a greasy  paste,  imperfectly  baked.  To  digest  these  various  substances, 
they  lake  tea,  immediately  after  dinner,  so  strong  that  it  is  bitter  to  tho  taste,  as  well  as  utterly  destructive  of  the 


440 


APPENDIX. 


nervous  system.  Supper  presently  follows,  with  salt  meat  and  shell  fish  in  its  train.  Thus  passes  the  whole  day,  In 
heaping  one  indigestive  mass  upon  another.  To  brace  the  exhausted  stomach,  wine,  rum,  gin,  malt  spirits,  or  beer, 
' are  used  with  dreadful  prodigality. 

“These  modes  of  diet  are  not  unsuitable  to  the  Tartarian  tribes,  from  whom  the  people  of  the  west  of  Europe  were 
originally  descended,  yet  they  employ  none  of  these  pernicious  stimulants.  Their  wandering  and  equestrian  life 
makes  them  capable  of  digesting  any  thing;  but  when  nations  change  their  climate,  or  sink  into  the  wealth,  refine- 
ment, and  ease  of  a stationary  people,  the  whole  mass  undergoes  material  alterations.  Tho  ploughmen  of  Germany 
or  England  may  copy  their  hardy  ancestors  without  much  inconvenience;  but  not  so  those  that  dwell  in  cities,  and 
pass  their  time  in  a slothful  or  sedentary  manner,  and  still  less  those  who  change  the  chills  and  damps  of  their  native 
climate  for  a torrid  region  like  Georgia  or  the  Carolinas.  Ilabit  itself,  though  almost  omnipotent,  cannot  reconcile  this 
system  to  so  repugnant  a climate.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  English  are  the  least  able  to  contend  with  the  evils  of  tropical 
climates,  of  any  people  of  Europe,  and  their  American  descendants  must  abjure  the  example,  or  they  will  incur  the 
same  inconveniences.  Regimen  has  so  much  influence  on  health,  and  is  of  such  moment  in  the  yellow  fever,  that 
this  malady  never  appeared  within  the  precincts  of  the  Philadelphia  prison,  a circumstance  no  doubt  owing  to  the  rigid 
temperance  observed  in  this  institution,  by  which  the  stomach  is  never  overloaded,  nor  the  fluids  depraved,  and  to  the 
exclusion  of  spirituous  liquors,  for  drunkenness  is  a vice  as  prevalent  in  the  United  States  as  among  the  savages 
themselves. 

“ I am  far  from  imagining  that  tho  manners  of  a nation,  in  these  respects,  can  be  easily  or  speedily  changed.  I 
know  too  well  the  infatuation  of  mankind,  and  the  obstinacy  of  general  and  long-established  habits  ; but  I cannot  help 
thinking,  that  if  half  the  pains  were  taken  by  governments  to  enlighten  their  subjects  as  are  taken  to  mislead  them,  a 
reformation  might  be  wrought,  such  as  tho  contemners  of  mankind  have  no  conception  of  at  present” 

SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  VIRGINIA  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION. 

The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  Liancourt,  from  whose  Voyage  dans  les  Etats  Unis  some 
general  observations  on  the  social  life  of  this  country  during  Washington’s  presidency  have  already 
been  quoted,  has  the  following  paragraphs  especially  referring  to  manners  in  Virginia  at  the 
same  period : 

“ The  Virginians  generally  enjoy  a character  for  hospitality,  which  they  truly  deserve ; they  are  fond  of  com- 
pany ; their  hospitality  is  sincere,  and  may  perhaps  be  the  reason  of  their  spending  more  than  they  should  do ; for 
in  general  they  are  not  rich,  especially  in  clear  income.  You  find,  therefore,  very  frequently,  a table  well  served, 
and  covered  with  plate,  in  a room  where  half  the  windows  have  been  broken  for  ten  years  past,  and  will  probably 
remain  so  ten  years  longer.  But  few  houses  are  in  a tolerable  state  of  repair,  and  no  part  of  their  buildings  is 
kept  better  than  the  stables,  because  the  Virginians  are  fond  of  hunting,  races,  and,  in  short,  of  all  pleasures  and 
amusements  that  render  it  necessary  to  take  peculiar  care  of  horses,  which  are  the  fashion  of  the  day. 

“ The  Virginians  are  good  husbands,  and  good  fathers ; but,  from  a love  of  dissipation,  they  keep  less  at  home 
than  the  inhabitants  of  other  states.  I have  heard  ladies  reproach  them  with  being  subject  to  jealousy.  This 
may  be  the  case  : in  every  country  under  tho  sun,  dissipated  husbands  are  jealous.  The  women  are  amiable,  and 
enjoy  the  reputation  of  fulfilling  their  duties  with  the  same  exactness  as  in  other  parts  of  America,  where  the  hus- 
bands pass  more  time  with  their  wires.  They  are  more  sprightly  and  agreeable  than  in  the  eastern  states,  but 
not  so  much  so  as  in  South  Carolina;  nor  are  they  so  pretty  as  in  Philadelphia.  I have,  however,  seen  Virginian 
ladies  who  are  inferior  to  none  in  personal  charms  and  graceful  manners. 

“ In  Virginia  the  lawyers  usually  insist  on  payment  before  they  proceed  in  a suit ; and  this  custom  is  justified 
by  the  general  disposition  of  the  inhabitants  to  pay  as  little  and  as  seldom  as  possible.  I have  heard  physicians 
declare  that  they  do  not  annually  receive  one-third  of  what  is  due  them  for  professional  services ; that  they  have 
some  of  these  debts  of  five  and  twenty  years’  standing;  that  their  claims  are  frequently  denied ; and  that,  in  order 
to  recover  payment,  they  are  obliged  to  send  writs,  carry  on  lawsuits,  etc. 

“ The  derangement  of  affairs  occasioned  by  expenses  exceeding  the  bounds  of  income,  and  especially  by  gaming — 
and,  above  all,  the  want  of  delicacy,  resulting  from  that  derangement,  and  from  the  habit  of  thinking  lightly  of 
debts— are  the  causes  of  this  immoral  order  of  things ; and  it  is  in  some  degree  encouraged  by  the  laws  of  the  state, 
which  do  not  allow  the  seizure  of  lands  or  other  immovable  property  for  the  payment  of  debts.” 

Another  observant  Frenchman,  writing  about  the  same  time,  presents  a very  similar  descrip- 
tion of  the  peculiarities  of  society  in  Virginia  in  the  earlier  years  of  American  independence. 

“ The  gentleman  of  fortune,”  he  remarks,  “rises  about  nine  o’clock.  lie  perhaps  may  make  an  exertion  to 
walk  as  far  as  his  stables  to  see  his  horses,  which  are  seldom  more  than  fifty  yards  from  his  house.  He  returns  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  to  breakfast,  w’hich  is  generally  of  tea  or  coffee,  bread  and  butter,  and  very  thin  slices  of  venison, 
ham  or  hung  beef.  He  then  lies  down  on  a pallet,  on  the  floor,  in  the  coolest  room  in  the  house,  in  his  shirt  and 
trowsers  only,  with  a negro  at  his  head,  and  another  at  his  feet,  to  fan  him,  and  keep  off  the  flies.  Between  twelve 
and  one,  he  takes  a draught  of  bombo,  or  toddy,  a liquor  composed  of  water,  sugar,  rum,  and  nutmeg,  which  is 
made  weak,  and  kept  cool.  He  dines  between  two  and  three,  and  at  every  table,  whatever  else  there  may  be,  a 
ham,  and  greens,  of  cabbage,  are  always  a standing  dish.  At  dinner,  he  drinks  cider,  toddy,  punch,  port,  claret, 
or  Madeira,  which  is  generally  excellent  here.  Having  drank  some  few  glasses  of  wine  after  dinner,  he  returns  to 
his  pallet,  with  his  two  blacks  to  fan  him,  and  continues  to  drink  toddy  or  sangaree  all  the  afternoon.  He  does 
not  always  drink  tea.  Between  nine  and  ten  in  the  evening,  he  eats  a light  supper  of  milk  and  fruit,  or  wine, 
sugar,  and  fruit,  and  almost  immediately  retires  to  bed,  for  the  night : in  which,  if  it  be  not  furnished  with 


APPENDIX. 


441 


mosketo  curtains,  he  is  generally  so  molested  with  the  heat,  and  harassed  and  tormented  with  these  pernicious 
insects,  that  he  receives  very  little  refreshment  from  sleep.  This  is  the  general  way  of  living  in  his  family, 
when  he  has  no  company.  No  doubt,  many  differ  from  it — some  in  one  respect,  some  in  another  : but  more  follow 
it  than  do  not. 

“ The  lower  and  many  of  the  middling  classes  live  very  differently.  A man  of  these  classes  rises  in  the  morning 
about  six  o'clock.  He  then  drinks  a julep,  made  of  rum,  water,  and  sugar,  but  very  strong.  Then  he  walks,  or 
more  generally  rides,  round  his  plantation,  views  all  his  stock,  and  all  his  crop ; and  breakfasts  about  ten  o’clock, 
on  cold  turkey,  cold  meat,  fried  homminy,  toast  and  cider,  ham,  bread  and  butter,  tea,  coffee,  or  chocolate,  which 
last,  however,  is  seldom  used  by  the  women.  The  rest  of  the  day  he  spends  much  in  the  manner  above  described, 
of  a man  of  the  first  rank;  only  cider  supplies  the  place  of  wino  at  dinner,  and  ho  eats  no  supper;  they  never 
even  think  of  it.  The  women  very  seldom  drink  tea  in  the  afternoon  ; the  men  never.” 


Y. 

EDUCATION  OF  AMERICAN  WOMEN  DURING  WASHINGTON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

From  nothing  can  the  real  condition  of  society  be  inferred  with  more  certainty  than  from  the 
education  of  its  women.  In  contemporary  memoirs  and  correspondence  we  have  frequent  refer- 
ences to  schools  for  girls  in  Boston,  Newport,  New-York,  Philadelphia,  and  other  cities,  before  and 
during  the  revolution,  and  to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  but  by  far  the  most  popular  as  well  as 
the  best  seminary  of  this  description  in  America,  from  the  peace  to  the  retirement  of  the  first 
president,  appears  to  have  been  that  of  the  Moravians,  at  Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania.  I have 
quoted*  some  allusions  to  it  by  John  Adams,  written  in  1777.  Eighteen  years  later  it  was  visited 
by  a woman  of  New  York,  who  addressed  to  a friend  the  following  characteristic  and  not  unpleasing 
account  of  it : 


A .JOURNEY  TO  BETHLEHEM,  IN  THE  SUMMER  OF  1T95. 

“ I think  I cannot  do  better  than  to  present  you  a little  sketch  of  our  Bethlehem  tour.  IVe  were  drawn  thither 
by  the  fame  of  the  seminary,  and,  high  as  our  expectations  were  raised,  we  found  them  greatly  exceeded.  Bethle- 
hem is  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  fifty-four  miles  north  of  Philadelphia;  it  is  a beautiful  village,  and  without 
the  smallest  degree  of  enthusiasm  may  be  pronounced  a terrestrial  paradise.  It  is  true,  we  do  not  wander  here 
through  orange  and  citron  groves,  but  nature  has  shaped  for  us  the  most  enchanting  walks.  Embowering  shades, 
meadows,  hills  and  dales,  every  where  strike  the  eye  with  agreeable  variety.  Parallel  rivers  pursue  their  glassy 
courses,  the  margins  of  which  are  planted  with  the  flourishing  and  highly  perfumed  locusts,  cedars  and  chestnuts,  and 
with  a variety  of  trees  bearing  the  most  delicious  fruits.  Upon  an  eminence  is  Bethlehem ; the  cultivated  scene  is 
displayed  before  us : a chain  of  verdant  hills  encircles  it,  and  this  little  Eden  is  in  the  midst.  The  town,  with  a 
very  few  exceptions,  is  built  of  stone,  and  the  dwellings  are  generally  upon  a large  scale. 

“ The  house  of  the  brethren,  that  of  the  sisterhood,  the  asylum  for  widows,  and  the  seminary  for  young  ladies, 
are  uncommonly  elevated  and  capacious,  and  there  is  an  air  of  dignified  simplicity  through  these  several  structures. 
The  greatest  order  and  unanimity  is  preserved ; even  the  water-works  are  characteristic ; from  one  spring  the  in- 
habitants are  supplied;  a cistern  conveys  it  to  their  kitchens ; by  the  aid  of  a pump,  worked  by  a water  machine, 
the  leaden  pipes  receive  it,  and  the  ready  spout,  at  pleasure,  discharges  in  every  domicil  the  purifying  stream. 

“ The  town  was  originally  planted  by  Germans ; many  natives  of  Europe  now  reside  here,  and  they  preserve 
their  ancient  customs  with  much  exactness.  A great  variety  of  arts  and  manufactures  are  carried  to  high  perfec- 
tion, among  which  are  those  of  the  tanner,  clothier,  stocking-weaver,  tin-worker,  blacksmith,  gold  and  silversmith, 
saw  and  scythe  maker,  wheelwright,  and  chaise  and  harness  maker ; grist-mills  also,  upon  the  best  plan,  are  found 
here,  and  a brewery,  after  the  English  model;  likewise  printing  and  bookbinding,  with  all  the  common  crafts. 

“ The  religion  of  the  people  is  a system  of  benevolence ; its  foundation  is  true  philanthropy,  upon  which  basis 
rises  the  superstructure  of  morality. 

“ I admire  beyond  expression  the  regularity  conspicuous  in  every  department.  The  virgin  choir  have  all  the 
advantages  which  the  cloistered  fair  one  can  boast,  without  her  restraints.  I enquired  of  one  of  the  sisters  if  it 
was  in  her  power  to  quit  her  engagements  ? ‘ Our  doors,  madam,’  replied  the  charming  recluse,  1 are  always  open ; 
but  once  relinquishing  this  retreat,  a second  entrance  is  found  very  difficult.’  This  circle  of  amiable  women  dwell 
together  in  perfect  amity;  every  one  pursues  her  different  vocation,  and  the  profits  make  a common  fund;  never 
did  I see  all  kinds  of  needle-work  carried  to  greater  excellence ; every  flower,  also,  which  prolific  nature  produces, 
is  imitated  so  exactly  as  to  render  it  only  not  impossible  to  distinguish  the  copies  from  the  models ; I never  saw 
them  surpassed  by  any  imported  from  Europe ; and  with  the  beauty,  richness,  and  exquisite  shading  of  their  em- 
broidery, I was  particularly  pleased.  As  we  passed  through  the  apartments,  the  tambour,  needle-work,  flowers, 
&c.,  were  displayed  for  sale:  I regretted  that  their  cost  was  beyond  my  reach.  Neither  is  the  loom  nor  the  distaff 
neglected — cloths  of  a superior  kind  being  manufactured  here ; and  we  were  shown  the  art  of  spinning  without 
a wheel. 

“ The  sisterhood  consists,  at  this  present,  of  about  one  hundred  maidens,  who,  after  a night  of  such  slumbers 

* Ante,  p.  8. 

56 


442 


APPENDIX. 


as  health  and  innocence  produce,  assemble  in  an  elegant  apartment,  which  is  consecrated  their  chapel.  It  is  proper 
ly  fitted  up,  supplied  with  an  organ  and  music  books,  and,  in  beautiful  capitals,  the  following  inscriptions,  on  eithei 
6ide,  meet  the  eyes : “ God  hath  appointed  us  to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that 
whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  live  together  with  him ; 1 4 1 will  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  my  soul  shall 
be  joyful  in  my  God,  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the  garments  of  salvation,  he  hath  covered  me  with  the  robe  of 
righteousness.’  Here  the  choir,  at  early  dawn  and  at  closing  eve,  together  hymn  the  praises  of  God,  and,  pros- 
trating themselves  in  his  presence,  the  most  venerable  among  them  present  their  petitions  and  thanksgivings  at 
the  throne  of  grace.  At  one  board  they  are  every  day  seated.  Persons  selected  for  the  purpose  prepare  their 
table.  The  wash-house,  where  the  apparel  of  the  sisterhood,  the  tutoresses,  and  their  pupils,  is  made  fit  for  use 
in  the  best  manner,  is  at  a considerable  distance. 

“ The  establishment  of  the  brethren  is  of  a similar  kind,  and  a like  institution  for  widowed  matrons  is  also 
admirably  completed.  All  that  was  wrong  in  their  system  they  seem  to  have  rectified.  The  males  and  fomales, 
under  the  chaste  auspices  of  Hymen,  may  now  form  for  themselves  the  tender  connection ; it  is  true  that,  on 
doing  so,  they  must  quit  their  respective  retirements,  but,  choosing  a spot  in  Bethlehem,  they  may  commence 
housekeeping,  continuing,  if  they  please,  their  intercourse  with,  and  attachment  to,  their  former  associates.  This 
privilege  is  denied  to  any  but  a Moravian ; for  though  you  may  sojourn  or  reside  for  a time  in  Bethlehem,  yet,  if 
of  any  other  persuasion,  you  cannot  become  a freeholder  there.  Thus,  married  people  are  not,  as  heretofore,  sep- 
arated ; they  live  together  much  in  the  manner  of  the  rest  of  the  world ; nor  are  they,  as  I hinted,  now  arbitrarily 
united  by  the  whim  or  caprice  of  the  brethren. 

“Only  one  inn  is  allowed  in  Bethlehem,  but  this  is  upon  an  extensive  plan,  with  every  thing  in  its 
season,  and  in  fine  order ; eighteen  double  beds  are  furnished,  and  the  emoluments  accruing  augment  the  com- 
mon stock. 

“ But  it  is  for  its  seminary  of  virtue,  and  every  excellent  quality  of  the  heart,  and  almost  every  embellish- 
ment of  the  understanding,  that  these  Elysian  Eields  will  chiefly  interest  an  enlightened  and  judicious  public. 
Place  your  daughter  at  Bethlehem,  and,  for  a very  moderate  consideration,  she  will  be  taught  a perfect  knowledge 
of  her  mother  tongue ; and  with  the  utmost  elegance,  the  French  and  German  languages;  reading,  writing,  com- 
position and  arithmetic,  will  be  given  her  in  as  much  perfection  as  she  is  capable  of  attaining  to ; music,  painting, 
and  geography,  with  the  rudiments  of  astronomy,  she  will  acquire,  and  at  the  same  time  the  strictest  attention  to 
her  health  will  be  unremittedly  paid.  It  is,  however,  in  your  choice  to  omit  for  her  any  of  these  branches  of  study. 
An  early  habit  of  order  and  regularity,  without  which  I sincerely  believe  no  one  important  object  was  ever  yet 
compassed,  will  also  be  acquired.  The  young  candidate  for  excellence  is  summoned  by  a bell  from  her  pillow  ; at 
a certain  hour  she  must  rise,  wash,  and  comb  her  hair;  next  she  is  to  attend  prayers ; then  comes  breakfast ; after 
which,  in  a regular  succession,  her  several  employments.  By  the  way,  at  morning  and  evening  prayers  they  play 
on  their  guitars,  which  they  join  with  their  voices,  chanting  some  divine  poem  to  the  praise  of  the  Saviour. 
These  devotional  exercises  are  performed  in  the  little  consecrated  chapel,  which  makes  a part  of  the  school  build- 
ing, into  which  no  male  ever  enters.  Six  o’clock  is  the  hour  of  rising,  and  eight  of  retiring  to  rest.  A lamp  con- 
tinues burning  through  the  night,  and  the  girls  are  often  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  soft  sounds  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
music.  The  school  is  divided  into  a number  of  apartments ; each  apartment,  according  to  its  dimensions,  contains 
a smaller  or  larger  number  of  pupils.  Every  division  has  its  particular  intendant  or  tutoress,  and  over 
all  there  is  a superior.  The  lodging-room  is  in  a lofty  situation,  and  accommodated  with  a ventilator ; the  culinary 
apartment  is  under  the  ground  floor,  and  their  diet  is  wholesome  and  sufficiently  varied.  Twice  a year  the  young 
ladies  pass  public  examination,  at  which  the  reverend  teacher  of  the  Bethlehemite  Society  presides ; and  every 
Sunday  collects  the  whole  congregation,  men,  women  and  children,  in  the  great  or  common  chapel,  which  is  orna- 
mented with  some  very  affecting  Scripture  pieces,  and  has  an  exceeding  fine  organ,  that  is  accompanied  by  the 
violin  and  bass-viol.  Singing,  you  know,  constitutes  a very  large  part  of  the  Moravian  worship,  and  their  music 
is  next  to  divine.  Church  service  is  performed  alternately  in  English  and  German,  and  its  matter  is  rational  and 
instructive.  The  maidens  are  much  accustomed  to  walking,  and  with  delightfully  romantic  promenades  Bethlehem 
abounds ; every  fine  evening,  guarded  by  one  or  another  of  the  governesses,  without  whom  they  never  make  an  ex- 
cursion, they  indulge  in  this  pleasing  and  salutary  exercise. 

“From  Elizabethtown,  Lancaster  and  Philadelphia,  regular  stages  to  this  seminary  have  lately  been  estab- 
lished. These  bring  the  children,  who  have  friends  in  the  towns  from  which  the  stages  are  sent  out,  or  in  those 
through  which  they  pass,  upon  a post  evening,  in  the  great  roads.  We  were  fortunate  enough  to  accompany  one 
of  these  stage  carriages  to  Bethlehem  ; a happy  concurrence  of  evehts  brought  us  acquainted  with  its  passengers, 
who  were  three  ladies  coming  hither  for  the  purpose  of  taking  home  their  daughters ; but  to  their  design  the 
girls  were  strangers.  Two  miles  from  the  town  wTe  met  the  smiling  train ; it  was  indeed  the  most  lovely  group  my 
eyes  ever  beheld ; a very  large  proportion  of  the  school  was  drawn  out : the  hope  of  bundles,  messages,  or 
letters  from  their  friends,  had  winged  their  feet.  The  girls  whose  parents  the  carriage  contained,  approached ; for 
a complete  year  they  had  not  seen  them  ; they  catched  a glimpse  ; they  looked  again ; with  rapture  they  clasped 
their  hands ; 1 0 ray  mamma ! my  mamma ! ’ The  starting  tears  finished  their  exclamations,  and  they  stood 
wrapped  in  the  charms  of  innocent,  affectionate  and  joyful  surprise ; yet  mingled  regrets  soon  balanced  the  plea- 
sures of  the  moment,  and  they  could  not  without  emotion  behold  the  near  approach  of  the  hour  in  which  they 
must  quit  a society  where  dwells  chastised  indulgence,  serenity,  and  love.  A lady  of  Hew  York  had  placed  her 
only  daughter  in  this  seminary;  after  a twelvemonth's  absence  she  visited  her;  stopping  at  the  inn  she  sent  for 
her,  but  impatient  to  embrace  her,  she  set  out  to  meet  the  messenger.  The  child  approached,  but  the  growth  she 
had  attained,  and  the  alteration  in  her  head-dress,  prevented  the  parent  from  distinguishing  her,  until  the  de- 
lighted creature,  taking  her  hand,  pressed  it  with  duteous  affection  to  her  lips. 

“ Coercive  measures  are  not  adopted  in  the  school ; hence  it  is  articled,  that  if  a child  proves  of  an  uncommonly 
refractory  disposition,  she  shall  be  returned  to  her  parents.  I asked  a student  if  they  had  any  punishments,  and 
if  so  what  was  their  nature,  and  she  informed  me  that  advice  and  gentle  remonstrances  generally  answered  every 


APPENDIX. 


443 


purpose;  if  these  were  found  ineffectual,  the  name  of  the  incorrigible,  with  the  nature  of  her  offenco,  was 
recorded ; but  in  tbe  Bethlehem  annals,  only  one  such  event  had  hitherto  occurred. 

“ Recommended  to  the  superior,  and  introduced  by  the  before-mentioned  ladies,  wo  had  an  opportunity  of 
making  many  observations.  Vfe  passed  through  the  several  rooms,  and  examined  the  tambour  work,  embroidery, 
&c.,  executed  by  tbe  children.  Never  did  I see  any  thing  in  that  line  equal  to  it.  We  attended  to  their  compo- 
sition and  painting.  Here  it  would  be  presumptuous  in  me  to  offer  criticisms,  but  I was  beyond  expression 
charmed.  As  they  played,  and  sung,  in  concert,  with  singular  pleasure  we  listened.  A number  of  beautiful 
girls  chanted,  ‘Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men;’  ‘Now  with  us  our  God  is  seen,’  and  ‘Glory  be  to  God 
above,  who  is  infinite  in  love.’  Do  you  not  think  the  tears  gushed  in  the  eyes  of  our  M.  ? Do  you  not  think  that 
my  heart  swelled  with  transport  ? Every  thing  was  admirable.  The  exact  order  and  harmony  to  which  the  pupils 
are  so  accustomed,  will  probably  have  upon  their  fqfure  lives  the  finest  effect.  Not  satisfied  with  designating  the 
hours,  their  clocks,  striking  even  the  quarters,  regulate,  with  the  utmost  precision,  their  movements. 

“ Hitherto  I have  thought  that,  had  heaven  blessed  me  with  a daughter,  I never  would  have  resigned  her  from 
my  own  maternal  watchfulness ; but  I now  own,  that  it  would  be  the  height  of  my  ambition  to  place  her  at  the 
age  of  seven  years  at  Bethlehem,  and  to  keep  her  there  till  fourteen. 

“Of  this  place  it  is  amazing  what  erroneous  conceptions  are  formed:  even  at  New  York  I heard  gentlemen 
and  men  of  letters  exclaim,  ‘ What  I immure  your  girls  within  the  cloistered  walls  of  Bethlehem  I surely  then  you 
do  not  intend  them  for  society  ? ’ Yet  it  is  a truth,  that  there  is  no  undue  confinement  or  restraint  here;  even 
the  sisterhood  not  seldom  making  excursions  to  the  adjacent  villages.  I have  heard  much  of  the  awkwardness 
and  mauvaise  lionte  of  those  educated  at  Bethlehem,  but  could  not  trace  it  in  a single  instance ; and  there  ig  in 
their  manners  an  elegant  ease  and  simplicity,  which  is  beyond  expression  prepossessing:  indeed,  dwelling  thus  to- 
gether, they  are  continually  accustomed  to  society;  and,  moreover,  Bethlehem  is  the  resort  of  the  most  cultivated 
strangers.  It  is  true,  dancing  is  not  taught  here,  but,  if  it  is  thought  proper,  this  may  be  easily  afterwards  ac- 
quired ; and  a young  lady  designed  for  the  great  world,  may  be  very  soon  initiated  into  this  or  any  other  of  its 
customs.  Meantime,  at  Bethlehem  she  may  early  lay  a good  foundation : the  chastest  system  of  morals,  with  a 
fund  of  benevolence,  a mind  richly  stored,  and  rendered  fit  to  receive  every  embellishment. 

“ With  regard  to  the  dress  of  the  school,  an  exact  uniformity  is  required ; it  is  a request  made  of  guardians  and 
parents  that  all  excess  may  be  avoided,  and  the  sisterhood  are  fond  of  seeing  their  proteges  in  white  ; the  cap,  how- 
ever, is,  if  I may  be  allowed  the  expression,  the  insignia  of  their  order ; all  the  young  ladies  put  it  on  ; it  is  made 
of  cambric,  receives  a narrow  border  of  lawn,  sets  close  to  the  head,  and  is  tied  under  the  chin  with  a pink  ribbon ; 
it  is  of  pure  white,  and  though  at  first  sight  we  are  induced  to  think  it  could  only  suit  a handsome  face,  yet  how- 
ever they  managed  it,  there  was  not  one  of  the  girls  to  whom  it  did  not  add  a charm.  The  cap  of  the  inhabitants, 
which,  for  more  than  a century,  the  Moravian  women  have  not  changed,  sets  also  close  to  the  head,  but  is  of  a dif- 
ferent cut,  and  is  not  so  becoming ; yet  it  is  worn  by  every  female  of  every  description  in  Bethlehem  : domestics 
maids,  wives,  and  widows — the  only  distinction  being  that  it  is  tied  with  pink  or  red  ribbon  by  maids,  with  blue 
by  wives,  and  with  white  by  widows ; and  this  knot  of  ribbon  is  the  only  ornament  worn  in  the  place.  I en- 
quired if  they  did  not  wear  black  upon  the  demise  of  a friend.  ‘ No,’  replied  an  old  lady,  who  might  have  passed 
for  the  sister  of  father  'Wright,  ‘ we  do  not  mourn  for  them,  we  believe  they  are  happy,  so  do  not  put  on  black.’ 
In  the  Moravian  manner  of  interring  the  dead,  as  observed  in  Bethlehem,  and  the  ceremonies  attendant,  there  is 
something  to  me  strikingly  pleasing.  As  soon  as  the  spirit  is  departed,  from  whatever  choir,  or  in  whatever  part 
of  the  town,  the  body  is  clothed  in  white  linen,  and,  if  a female,  the  cap  receives  the  ribbon  which  designates  tho 
order  ; the  body  is  then  borne  to  a small  stone  chapel,  consecrated  for  this  purpose,  where  it  is  deposited  till  the 
hour  of  interment.  One  of  the  brethren  then  mounts  the  top  of  the  highest  edifice,  -which  commands  the  whole 
village,  and  proclaims  the  event  by  means  of  a German  instrument  of  music,  the  name  of  which  I could  not  learn, 
and  he  has  a method  of  conveying  the  intelligence  which  discloses  the  sex  and  connection  of  the  deceased.  When 
the  hour  of  burial  approaches,  the  brethren,  the  sisterhood,  the  children,  are,  by  a number  of  French  horns,  sum- 
moned to  attend  service  in  the  great  chapel ; an  exhortation  is  then  delivered,  and  the  singing  and  praying  pro- 
duce a solemn  and  proper  effect : the  body  is  next  carried  from  the  chapel,  and  placed  upon  a stand,  on  a beauti- 
ful green,  the  males  ranging  themselves  on  one  side  and  the  females  on  the  other  ; it  is  covered  with  a snow-white 
pall,  ornamented  with  red,  blue,  or  white  ribbon,  according  to  the  character  of  the  departed.  Upon  the  green,  a 
divine  anthem  is  performed,  when  the  body  is  conveyed  to  the  sepulchre,  the  instruments  of  music  all  the  time 
playing,  and  the  whole  village  ranging  themseves  in  decent  and  beautiful  order  in  the  procession.  At  one  of  these 
funerals  we  attended,  ana  we  entered  the  burial  ground  with  a raised,  chastised  and  solemn  kind  of  satisfaction. 
At  the  grave  some  religious  exercises  were  performed  which,  being  in  German,  we  could  not  understand.  After- 
wards vocal  and  instrumental  music,  again  in  soft  and  solemn  strains  resounding,  were  continued  during  the  inter- 
ment, and  until  the  assembly  had  quitted  the  graveyard. 

“ There  is  something  peculiarly  pleasing  even  in  the  burial-ground  at  Bethlehem.  It  is  a spacious,  oval  plain, 
decently  walled  in ; it  is  exactly  divided ; on  one  side  are  ranged  the  males,  and  on  the  other  the  females ; upon  a 
straight  line  the  graves  are  laid  out,  and  you  can  walk  between  every  one  with  as  much  ease  as  you  could  pursue 
ybur  way  along  the  gravel  walks  of  a parterre.  The  grave-stone  is  not  raised,  as  with  us,  but  forms  a modest  tablet 
which  is  generally  shaded  by  the  verdant  grass,  and,  bearing  a concise  inscription,  we  receive  the  necessary  infor- 
mation of  the  dead.  Thus  these  denizens  of  tranquillity  live,  and  thus  is  marked  their  passage  out  of  time. 

“ But,  to  return  from  a digression,  which  I assure  myself  wTill  not  displease,  I have  further  to  say,  that  I was 
particularly  charmed  with  the  governantes  of  the  Bethlehem  seminary.  There  is  in  their  manners  a decent  pro- 
priety which  I have  seldom  seen  equalled ; their  very  gestures  are  eminently  expressive.  Their  instructress  in 
the  French  tongue  has  not  a word  of  English,  yet  there  is  a kind  of  language  in  her  every  movement.  There  is 
something  romantic  in  her  history : of  an  ancient  and  noble  family  in  France,  she  made  one  in  the  suite  of  the 
Princess  Louisa;  her  education,  of  course,  was  of  the  highest  kind,  and,  influenced  by  the  example  of  her 
royal  mistress,  she  took  the  veil.  For  twelve  years  she  continued  an  acquiescing  sister;  but,  possessing  a superior 


444 


APPENDIX. 


mind  and  being  a woman  of  information,  reflection  originated  doubts.  In  the  cloister  she  had  been  invested 
with  some  dignities.  She  questioned  those  whom  she  supposed  capable  of  instructing  her ; but  her  difficulties, 
during  a residence  of  some  added  years,  increased ; at  length,  after  encountering  a series  of  misfortunes,  she  es- 
caped, and  relinquishing  her  amily,  and  her  religious  name,  she  took  that  of  a rivulet,  over  which  she  passed— 
Fontaine ; and,  finding  means  to  transport  herself  to  Holland,  the  transition  to  Germany  was  easy.  In  Germany, 
embracing  the  Moravian  faith,  she  heard  an  account  of  the  Bethlehem  society,  obtained  strong  recommendations 
to  the  brethren,  and  crossing  the  Atlantic,  was  by  them  received  as  a valuable  acquisition,  and  is  now  a principal 
ornament  of  their  school.  By  such  a character,  thus  qualified,  you  will  conclude  that  the  French  language  is  taught 
in  its  utmost  elegance.  I think  she  has  been  in  Bethlehem  two  years.’’ 


VI. 

WATERING  PLACES  IN  AMERICA,  SEVENTY  YEARS  AGO. 

Before  the  revolution  the  springs  of  Virginia  had  every  summer  been  resorted  to  by  a con- 
siderable number  of  invalids  and  lovers  of  pleasure,  and,  at  a later  day,  Bristol,  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  Lebanon  and  Saratoga,  had  acquired  not  a little  popularity  by  the  virtues  of  their  waters ; 
but,  upon  the  whole,  no  place  appears  to  have  been  more  fashionable  as  a summer  retreat  during 
the  first  administration  than  Rockaway,  on  Long  Island.  A gentleman  who  resided  there  in  the 
summer  of  1789,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  gives  the  following  sketch  of  it  in  Swords’s  “New 
York  Magazine,”  for  1790  : 

“Let  the  valetudinarian  from  the  southern  states  and  the  West  Indian  islands,  never  fail  to  visit  Rockaway, 
and  reside  there  some  weeks  during  the  summer  season.  The  distance  from  New  York  is  little  more  than  twenty 
miles,  through  a level  country,  and  along  a good  road.  The  town  of  Jamaica,  which  stands  about  half  way,  is  a 
convenient  stage  for  refreshment. 

“ The  house  in  which  you  lodge  is  situated  high,  and  on  a gravelly  soil.  An  extensive  beach  lies  in  front,  on 
which  the  surf  is  continually  beating ; and,  beyond  the  shoals  and  breakers,  the  noble  prospect  of  the  Atlantic 
ocean  is  terminated  only  by  the  rotundity  of  the  globe.  From  your  windows  you  may  see  whatevor  vessels  ply 
along  the  coast,  and  count  them,  whether  inward  or  outward  bound,  as  they  pass  the  lighthouse  on  Sandy  Hook. 
The  Neversink  hills,  in  New  Jersey,  can  also  be  seen,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  whales  are  to  be  viewed, 
sporting  and  spouting,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  shore.  What  sights  can  be  more  grand  than  these  I Animals, 
to  which  Behemoth  and  Leviathan,  famed  of  old.  were  but  as  pigmies  ; ships,  those  unequalled  contrivances  of  man, 
that,  transporting  the  produce  of  one  country  to  another,  beautifully  display  their  sails  and  colors  as  they  ride 
majestic  over  the  billows ; hills,  that  defy  the  violence  of  the  waves  which  ever  since  the  creation  have  assailed 
their  foundations;  an  ocean,  that  rolls  over  the  face  of  our  planet  beyond  the  regions  explored  by  Cook  and 
Phipps,  almost  from  pole  to  pole. 

“ Sea-breezes,  which  regularly  blow  every  day  during  the  summer  season,  abate,  in  the  most  refreshing  degree, 
the  sultriness  of  July  and  August;  and  they  bring  with  them  not  only  coolness  to  the  inhabitant,  but  I know  not 
what  of  wholesome  and  restorative  power  from  the  saline  element.  Asthmatic,  consumptive  and  emaciated 
patients  have  experienced  their  benefits,  and  without  the  expense  and  danger  of  a sea-voyage,  so  much  recom- 
mended and  so  fashionable  nowadays,  have  enjoyed,  to  their  comfort,  a marine  air,  and  a water  prospect. 

“Exercise,  that  is  absolutely  necessary  to  health,  and  difficult  to  be  obtained  in  cities,  can  here  be  procured  in 
perfection.  The  country,  for  several  miles  around,  is  delightfully  even ; the  highways  are  kept  in  excellent  repair, 
and  for  a long  distance  you  find  not  a stone  to  obstruct  your  carriage  wheels.  You  either  make  an  excursion  inland, 
and  divert  yourself  with  the  simple  life  and  rural  manners  of  the  people,  or  proceed  along  the  beach,  at  low  water, 
on  the  milk-white  sand,  compacted  almost  as  hard  as  a pavement,  where  the  wide-rolling  foaming  surges  tumble 
with  fury  to  the  shore. 

“But  to  the  effects  of  air  and  exercise,  you  may  join,  in  the  most  convenient  manner,  the  influences  of  sea- 
bathing. This  cleanses,  invigorates,  and  braces  the  body,  in  many  disorders  of  debility,  more  than  other  known 
remedies.  Ladies,  especially,  who  are  brought  to  weakness  and  languor  by  peculiar  ailments,  find  their  strength 
return,  their  beauty  revive,  and  their  ability  to  relish  the  joys  and  pleasures  of  life  renewed,  by  a proper  continu- 
ance of  this  salutary  practice.  The  saltness,  purity  and  coolness  of  the  water,  by  their  combined  agency,  render 
the  bath  truly  medicinal  and  efficacious,  insomuch  as  to  exceed,  in  many  respects,  the  celebrated  fountains  of 
Lebanon  and  Saratoga. 

“ In  these  several  particulars,  it  cannot  be  supposed  there  is  any  exaggeration  in  asserting  that  Rockaway 
fully  equals  Scarborough  and  Margate,  noted  places  of  resort  in  England,  and  is  superior  to  Tusculum,  Pneneste, 
and  Gaieta,  celebrated  by  the  classic  penmen  of  Italy,  as  the  pleasant  retreats  of  the  Romans  from  the  sweltering 
heat  and  sickly  atmosphere  of  the  town. 

“ Yet  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  Rockaway  should  be  recommended  merely  as  a place  of  rendezvous  for 
the  diseased ; for  this  place  is  undoubtedly  as  well  calculated  to  amuse  the  healthy  as  to  restore  the  sick.  Here 
the  fowler,  within  an  hundred  rods  of  his  lodgings,  shoots  snipes,  curlews,  and  other  birds,  in  plenty ; or  riding 
north  half  a dozen  miles,  to  Hempstead  Plain,  which  is  itself  a great  curiosity,  draws  a trigger  at  the  plover;  or 
proceeding  eastward  a few  leagues  further,  to  Suffolk,  tries  his  dexterity  in  the  pursuit  of  heath  hens  and  wood- 
socks.  Hence,  too,  the  angler  launches  his  small  boat,  rows  down  the  bay  to  the  anchoring  ground,  and  tells  on 


A PPENDIX. 


445 


liis  return  how  the  number  and  size  of  the  fishes  he  caught  rendered  the  sport  of  pulling  them  on  board  border 
rather  too  much  on  fatigue.  The  sportsman  lias  also  a chance  of  diverting  himself  in  the  chace  of  foxes,  which  are 
very  troublesome  to  the  poultry  of  the  neighborhood. 

“ Animal  and  vegetable  productions,  in  great  abundance  and  variety  hereabout,  afford  the  naturalist  an  oppor- 
tunity of  enlarging  his  knowledge  of  the  Creator's  works;  he  may,  with  botanical  diligence,  range  the  fields  and 
woods  in  quest  of  new  herbs  and  blossoms,  or  in  his  zoological  enquiries,  explore  the  creeks  and  inlets  to  find 
among  the  natives  of  the  water  something  rare  and  interesting.  Forgetful  awhile  of  the  smaller  operations  of  man, 
the  philosopher  may  learn  lessons  of  wisdom  from  contemplating  the  politics  of  nature. 

“ How  charming  is  it  to  retire  to  the  shade  of  the  trees  and  peruse  one's  favorite  books ! Here,  beneath  the 
oaks,  may  the  admirer  of  pastoral  composition  peruse  the  Idylls  of  Theocritus  and  Gessner ; here  sympathize  with 
Sterne  on  the  piteous  case  of  Maria;  here,  in  a solitude  well  fitting  the  subject,  read  again  and  again  the  Deserted 
Village  of  Goldsmith.” 

The  following  letter  by  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  then  just  entering  upon  his  career  as  a man 
of  letters,  and  temporarily  residing  in  New  York,  describes  a visit  which  he  made  to  Rockaway 
in  1792: 

“ What  possible  amusement  can  you  expect  from  my  recital  of  a jaunt  to  Rockaway  ? I cannot  dignify  trifles, 
or  give  to  vulgar  sights  a novelty,  by  making  them  pass  through  my  fancy.  That  fancy,  you  well  know,  has  no 
particle  of  kindred  to  that  of  poet  or  painter,  and  nobody  should  pretend  to  describe,  who  does  not  look  through 
the  optics  of  either  painter  or  poet.  Besides,  my  ignorance  circumscribes  my  curiosity.  I have  few  objects  of  re- 
membrance with  which  to  compare  the  objects  that  I meet  with.  Hence,  as  the  carriage  whirls  along,  faces,  fences, 
houses,  barns,  cultivated  fields,  pass  rapidly  across  my  eye,  without  leaving  a vestige  behind  them.  You  will 
of  course  ask  me,  how  are  the  fields  inclosed  ? how  are  they  planted  ? what  portion  is  tilled  ? what  is  wood, 
and  what  is  waste  ? of  what  number,  materials,  dimensions,  and  form,  are  the  dwellings,  the  granaries,  the 
churches,  the  bridges,  the  carriages  ? what  the  countenances,  the  dress,  the  deportment  of  the  passengers  ? and 
so  forth,  through  an  endless  catalogue  of  interrogatories. 

“Now  I cannot  answer  a word  to  all  these  questions.  Your  attention,  on  the  contrary,  during  such  a journey 
would  be  incessantly  alive  : you  would  take  exact  note  of  all  these  particulars,  aud  draw  from  them  a thousand 
inferences  as  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  the  state  of  agriculture,  and  the  condition  of  the  people.  While  your  com- 
panions were  beguiling  the  time  by  a nap ; by  looking  eagerly  forward  to  the  baiting  place,  and  asking  the  driver, 
now  and  then,  how  many  miles  he  had  to  go  to  dinner,  or  cursing  the  dust,  the  heat,  the  jolting,  and  the  hard 
benches,  or  conversing  with  each  other,  all  your  senses,  and  your  whole  soul  would  be  chaiued  to  passing  objects. 
Not  a stone  would  you  meet  with,  but  would  instantly  pass  through  your  crucible ; not  a tree  or  a post,  but  would 
serve  as  a clue  to  the  knowledge  of  the  soil,  climate,  and  the  industry  of  the  island.  You  would  count  the  passen- 
gors,  take  an  inventory  of  their  dress,  mark  their  looks  and  their  steps ; you  would  calculate  the  length,  breadth, 
and  height  of  all  the  buildings ; and  compare  every  thing  you  saw,  from  the  church  to  the  pig-pen,  and  from  the 
parson  to  the  plough-boy,  with  all  that  you  had  seen  elsewhere. 

“Such  is  the  traveller,  my  friend,  that  you  would  have  made;  and  you  would  have  known  more  of  Long 
Island  in  a few  hours  than  many  who  have  lived  within  sight  of  it  these  fifty  years : I,  alas ! am  one  of  those  whom 
fifty  years  of  observation  would  leave  in  the  same  ignorance  in  which  they  found  me. 

“ 'T  is  true,  as  you  say,  that  such  an  unobservant  wretch  as  I represent  myself  to  be,  may  yet  amuse  by  relating 
his  own  sensations,  and  his  narrative,  if  it  give  no  account  of  the  scene  of  his  journey,  will,  at  least,  comprise  a 
picture  of  his  own  character.  An  accurate  o.story  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  any  man,  for  one  hour,  is  more 
valuable  to  some  minds,  than  a system  of  geography ; and  you,  you  tell  me,  are  one  of  those  who  would  rather 
travel  into  the  mind  of  a ploughman,  than  into  the  interior  of  Africa.  I confess  myself  of  your  way  of  thinking, 
but  from  very  different  motives.  I must  needs  say  I would  rather  consort  for  ever  with  a ploughman,  or  even  with 
an  old  Bergen  market  woman,  than  expose  myself  to  an  hundredth  part  of  the  perils  which  beset  the  heels  of  a 
Ledyard  or  a Park.  > 

“You  see  how  ingeniously  I put  off  this  unpleasant  task  : but  since  you  will  mot  let  me  off,  I must  begin. 
Remember,  it  is  a picture  of  myself,  and  not  of  the  island,  that  you  want ; and  such,  how  disreputable  soever  it 
may  be  to  the  painter,  you  shall  have.  I have  some  comfort  in  thinking,  that  most  of  the  travellers  to  Rockaway, 
are  but  little  wiser  and  more  inquisitive  than  myself. 

“ In  the  first  place,  then,  we  left  I.’s  at  one  o’clock.  The  day  was  extremely  fine,  and  promised  a most  pleasant 
ride.  You  may  suppose  that  we  were  most  agreeably  occupied  in  the  prospect  of  a journey  which  neither  of  the 
three  had  ever  made  before;  but  no  such  thing.  We  thought  and  talked  of  nothing  but  the  uncertainty  of  getting 
seats  in  the  stage,  which  goes  at  that  hour  from  Brooklyn,  and  the  reasonable  apprehension  of  being  miserably 
crowded,  even  if  rve  could  get  seats.  Such  is  my  aversion  to  being  wedged  with  ten  or  twelve  in  a coach, 
that  I had  previously  resolved  to  return,  in  case  of  any  such  misfortune.  So  I told  my  friends,  but  in  this  I fibbed 
a little,  for  the  naked  truth  was,  that  I wanted  a pretext  for  staying  behind;  having  left  society  in  New  York,  the 
loss  of  which  all  the  pleasures  of  Rockaway  would  poorly  compensate. 

“We  passed  the  river,  and  after  dining  at  the  inn,  were  seated  in  the  coach  much  more  at  our  ease  than  we 
had  any  reason  to  expect.  We  rode  through  a country  altogether  new  to  me,  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  (I  forget 
which)  to  Jamaica.  Shall  I give  you  a peep  into  my  thoughts  ? Iam  half  ashamed  to  admit  you,  but  I will  deal 
sincerely  with  you.  Still,  say  I,  my  consolation  is,  that  few  travellers,  if  their  minds  were  laid  as  completely 
open  to  inspection,  would  come  off  from  their  trial  with  more  credit  than  myself. 

“I  confess  to  you  then  that  my  mind  was  much  more  busily  engaged  in  reflecting  on  the  possible  consequences 
of  coming  off  without  several  changes  of  clothes  in  my  handkerchief,  and  without  an  umbrella  to  shelter  me  from 


446 


APPENDIX. 


6unshine  and  rain,  than  with  the  fields  and  woods  which  I passed  through.  My  umbrella  I had  the  ill  luck  tc 
break  as  we  crossed  the  river,  and  as  to  clothes,  I had  the  folly,  as  usual,  to  forget  that  Rockaway  was  a place  of 
fashionable  resort,  and  that  many  accidents  might  happen  to  prolong  our  stay  there  four  or  five  days,  instead  of  a 
single  day;  and  yet,  think  not  that  I was  totally  insensible  to  passing  objects.  The  sweet  pure  country  air,  which 
was  brisk,  cool  and  fresh  enough  to  make  supportable  the  noon-tide  rays  of  a July  sun,  to  the  whole  force  ot 
which  my  seat  beside  the  driver  exposed  me,  I inhaled  with  delight.  I remember  little,  however,  but  a country 
nearly  denuded  of  its  woods  (as  Sam  Johnson  would  say),  a sandy  soil,  stubble  fields,  houses  fifty  years  old, 
a couple  of  miles  from  each  other,  and  most  of  them,  especially  those  furthest  on  the  road,  exact  counterparts  of 
such  as  we  see  in  Dutch  and  Flemish  landscapes ; four-wheeled  rustic  carriages,  of  a most  disproportioned  length, 
crazy  and  uncouth,  without  springs,  entered  from  behind,  and  loaded  with  women  and  children,  pigs  and  chickens ; 
not  a single  carriage  of  elegance  or  pleasure  to  be  met  with,  though  overtaken  by  half  a dozen  gigs,  going  to  the 
same  place  with  ourselves. 

“We  reached  Jamaica  at  five  o’clock,  and  here  wo  staid  one  hour.  A glass  of  lemonade,  a refreshing  ablution 
in  cold  water,  and  a walk  with  B.  in  the  church.yard  opposite  the  inn,  w’ere  all  the  surprising  events  which  dis- 
tinguished this  hour.  The  island  is  one  of  the  oldest  European  settlements  in  North  America,  and  we  therefore 
expected  to  find  in  this  churchyard  some  memorial  of  ancient  days,  but  were  disappointed.  There  were  many 
gravestones  broken,  or  half  sunken,  or  blackened  by  age,  but  the  oldest  date  wTas  within  forty  years.  The  church, 
though  painted  anew  and  furbished  up  lately,  was  about  seventy  years  old,  as  an  inscription  on  the  front  informed 
us.  There  was  another,  of  a much  more  antique  cast,  within  view,  but  we  did  not  approach  it. 

“I  hope  you  will  be  sparing  of  your  inquiries  respecting  Jamaica,  for  I can  answer  none  of  them.  I asked  not 
a single  question,  statistical  or  topographical,  of  our  hostess.  I did  not  count  the  houses,  and  therefore  can  form 
no  notion  of  the  population.  It  is  a spacious,  good-looking  village,  many  of  the  edifices  of  which  appear  to  be 
built  as  summer  retreats  for  wealthy  citizens,  and  this  is  all  I can  say  of  it. 

“ During  our  second  stage,  I was  placed  much  more  at  my  ease  than  during  the  first.  I was  seated  beside  a 
little  girl,  whom  all  the  company  took  care  to  inform  that  they  thought  her  very  pretty.  For  my  part,  her 
attractions  made  little  impression  on  my  fancy.  To  be  infirmly  delicate  in  form,  to  have  a baby-like  innocence  of 
aspect,  and  a voice  so  very  soft  that  it  can  scarcely  bo  heard,  are  no  recommendations  to  me.  She  prattled  a good 
deal  about  a squirrel  and  canary-bird  which  she  had  at  home,  and  that  respectful  attention  was  paid  to  a pair  of 
6weet  lips,  which  the  words  that  fell  from  them  would  never  have  obtained.  The  rest  of  our  company  were  men, 
and  I had  not  wit  enough  to  extract  any  oddity  or  singularity  from  their  conversation  or  appearance.  Two  of 
them,  you  know,  were  my  companions,  and  the  other  two  cheerful  and  well-bred  strangers. 

“ I,  for  the  most  part,  was  mute,  as  I usually  am,  in  a stage-coach  and  among  strangers.  Not  so  my  two  friends. 
B.  finds  a theme  of  talk  and  good  humor  in  every  thing,  and  J.’s  amenity  is  always  ready  to  pursue  the  other’s  lead. 
I forgot  all  their  topics,  except  a very  earnest  discussion  of  the  merits  of  different  lodging-houses  at  the  sea-side, 
and  many  sympathetic  effusions,  drawn  forth  by  the  shipwreck  of  another  coach.  On  the  first  head  we  concluded 
to  go  to  the  house  nearest  the  sea,  one  Ben  Cornwall’s,  our  purpose  being  as  much  to  gratify  the  eye  as  the  touch, 
and  there  we  accordingly  arrived,  pretty  late,  on  a chill,  moist,  and  cloudy  evening. 

“There  are  few  men  who  are  always  masters  of  their  spirits,  and  mine,  which  had  not  been  high  through  the 
day,  fell  suddenly  some  degrees  lower,  on  stepping  out  of  the  carriage  into  the  piazza  of  the  house.  This  place 
appeared,  at  the  first  glance,  to  want,  at  the  same  time,  the  comforts  and  seclusion  of  a private  house,  and  the  order 
and  plenty  of  a public  one.  The  scene  without  was  extremely  dreary,  and  the  sea,  which  was  not  a quarter  of  a 
mile  distant,  gave  us  very  distinctly  the  music  of  his  multitudinous  waves. 

“Our  curiosity  would  not  allow  us  to  go  to  bed  till  we  had  touched  the  ocean  wave.  We,  therefore,  after  a 
poor  repast,  hastened  down  to  the  beach.  Between  the  house  and  the  water  is  a wide  and  level  expanse  of  loose 
white  sand,  w’hich  n a pretty  good  sample  of  Arabia  or  Zahara,  as  I have  heard  them  described.  Tell  me,  you  who 
have  travelled,  whetlu-*  every  country,  in  the  temperate  zone,  of  moderate  extent,  and  somewhat  diversified, 
contains  not  samples  of  every  other  quarter  of  the  globe  ? 

“ The  air  was  wet  to  the  touch  and  saline  to  the  taste,  but  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  which  a canopy  of 
dark  clouds,  with  a pale  star  gleaming  now  and  then  through  the  crevices,  tended  to  increase,  buoyed  up  my 
spirits  to  their  usual  pitch.  To  my  friend  B.  this  novelty  was  absolute.  He  never  before  saw  the  ocean ; but  to 
me  it  was  new  only  as  I now  saw  it,  at  night.  Seven  years  ago  I found  my  way  to  the  margent  of  the  sea,  between 
Sandy  Hook  and  the  mouth  of  the  Raritan.  I took  a long  peregrination  on  foot,  in  company  with  two  friends,  and 
shall  never  forget  the  impression  which  the  boundless  and  troubled  ocean,  seen  for  the  first  time  from  an  open 
beach  in  a clear  day,  and  with  a strong  wind  blowing  landward,  made  upon  me.  It  was  flood-tide,  and  the  sandy 
margin  formed  a pretty  steep  shelf.  The  billows,  therefore,  rose  to  a considerable  height,  and  broke  with  great 
fury  against  it ; and  my  soul  was  suspended  for  half  an  hour,  with  an  awe,  a rapture,  which  I never  felt  before. 
Far  different  were  my  feelings  on  this  occasion,  for  the  ocean  was  no  longer  new  to  me,  and  the  scene  itself  was 
far  less  magnificent.  There  was  scarcely  any  wind,  the  tide  was  ebbing,  and  the  shore  declined  almost  im- 
perceptibly. 

“As  we  came  to  this  place  for  the  purpose  of  bathing,  and  had  so  short  a time  to  stay,  we  thought  we  could 
not  begin  too  early,  and  therefore  stript  immediately,  notwithstanding  the  freshness  of  the  air,  and  wrhat  was  oi 
greater  moment,  our  ignorance  of  the  locality. 

“Up  pretty  high  on  the  shore  is  a house,  no  better  than  a fisherman's  hut.  ’Tis  a mere  frame  of  wood, 
boarded  at  the  sides  and  top,  with  no  window  but  the  door-way.  The  floor  is  sand,  and  there  are  pegs  against  the 
wall  to  hang  clothes  upon.  There  is  a tub  provided  for  cleansing  tho  feet  from  the  sand,  which  when  wet  clings 
to  tho  skin  like  bird-lime.  Towels,  which  are  furnished  at  the  house,  we  brought  not  with  us. 

“ Is  there  any  thing,  the  advantages  of  which  are  more  universally  and  constantly  manifested,  than  order  ? 
Its  value  is  seen  in  the  most  trivial  matters,  as  in  the  most  momentous.  This  room  was  pitch-dark,  and  we  were 
wholly  unacquainted  with  it;  and  yet,  by  the  simpV  process  of  hanging  our  clothes,  as  we  take  them  off,  on  a 


APPENDIX. 


447 


peg,  and  putting  them  on  in  the  same  order  reversed,  there  was  no  difficulty.  Some  of  us  were  not  so  wise  as  to 
practise  this  order,  and,  of  consequence,  were  condemned  to  grope  about  half  an  hour  longer  than  others,  in  the 
dark,  for  stockings,  sleeve-buttons,  hats,  and  handkerchiefs. 

“ What  would  physicians  say  to  standing,  naked,  on  a bleak  night,  with  the  wind  from  the  east,  while  the 
billows  broke  over  you  for  ten  minutes  ? There  is  an  agreeable  trepidation  felt,  while  the  scene  is  new,  and  the 
sudden  effusion  of  cold  water  must,  methinks,  produce  powerful  effects  of  some  kind  or  other. 

“ As  we  were  early  comers  to  this  house,  we  were  honored  each  with  a room  to  himself.  There  were  twenty 
or  thirty  persons  to  be  accommodated,  besides  a numerous  family,  in  a wooden  dwelling  of  two  stories ; so  that  we 
could  not  but  congratulate  ourselves  on  the  privilege  thus  secured  to  us.  The  chamber,  however,  allotted  to  me, 
was  a little  nook,  about  seven  feet  long  and  three  wide,  only  large  enough  to  admit  the  bedstead  and  him  that 
slept  on  it.  Yet,  in  such  excursions  as  these,  hardships  and  privations  are  preferable  to  ease  and  luxury. 
There  is  something  like  consciousness  of  merit  in  encountering  them  voluntarily  and  with  cheerfulness.  There  is 
a rivalship  in  hardihood  and  good  humor,  more  pleasurable  than  any  delights  of  the  senses.  A splenetic  or  fasti- 
dious traveller  is  a great  burden  to  himself  and  to  his  company,  and  ought,  through  mere  generosity,  to  keep  him- 
self at  home.  In  saying  this,  I am  conscious  that  in  some  degree  I pronounce  my  own  condemnation,  bnt  I hope 
I am  not  very  culpable. 

“My  friends  rose  at  daylight  next  morning,  and  went  to  bathe.  They  gave  me  warning,  but  I did  not  heed 
it.  My  little  nook  had  half  melted  me  with  heat,  and  I felt  as  if  unqualified  for  the  least  exertion.  I was  sorry 
to  have  lost  the  opportunity,  and  rose,  when  the  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens,  with  some  degree  of  regret.  But 
more  lucky  than  I deserved  to  be,  I found  a country  wagon  at  the  door,  ready  to  carry  down  any  one  who  chose, 
to  the  strand.  I went  with  another. 

“ This  was  a far  different  bathing  from  that  of  the  night  before.  The  wagon  carries  us  to  ve  water’s  edge, 
and  there  we  may  undress  at  our  leisure  amidst  a footing  of  clean  straw,  convenient  seats,  and  plenty  of  napkins. 
The  wagon  receives  us  directly  from  the  water  and  carries  us  home,  without  trouble  or  delay.  On  this  occasion 
the  sun  was  just  warm  enough  to  be  comfortable,  and  the  time  of  day  exactly  suited  to  the  bath.  Such  is  my 
notion  of  the  matter,  but  I doubt  whether  any  body  else  will  agree  with  me.  Sunrise  and  sunset  are  the  usual 
bathing  times. 

“After  breakfast  we  took  a walk  along  the  strand.  My  pastime  consisted  in  picking  up  shells ; in  sifting  and 
examining  the  fine  white  sand ; in  treading  on  the  heels  and  toes  of  the  wave,  as  it  fell  and  rose,  and  in  trying  to 
find  some  music  in  its  eternal  murmur.  Here  could  I give  you  long  discourse  on  all  these  topics,  but  my  vague 
and  crude  reveries  would  only  make  my  dull  epistle  still  more  dull.  The  sun  at  last  broke  out  with  the  full  force 
of  midsummer,  and  we  panted  and  waded  through  the  sand  homeward,  with  no  small  regret  that  we  had  ven- 
tured so  far.  We  Americans  in  general  have  feeble  heads : those  of  us,  I mean,  who  were  not  born  to  dig  ditches 
and  make  hay.  A white  hat,  broad-rimmed,  and  light  as  a straw,  is  an  insufficient  shelter  against  the  direct 
beams  of  the  sun.  What  must  we  have  suffered  on  this  occasion  when  the  vertical  rays  fell  on  a surface  of  smooth 
white  sand?  We  were  almost  exhausted  before  we  reached  our  lodgings. 

“The  company  at  this  house  was  numerous,  and  afforded,  as  usual,  abundant  points  of  speculation.  Some 
were  young  men,  in  their  heydey  of  spirits,  rattling,  restless,  and  noisy.  Some  were  solid  and  conversible,  and 
some  awkward  and  reserved.  Three  married  women  belonged  to  the  company,  one  of  whom  said  nothing,  but  was 
as  dignified  and  courteous  in  demeanor  as  silence  would  let  her  be ; another  talked  much,  and  a third  hit  the 
true  medium  pretty  well.  I did  not  fail  to  make  a great  many  reflections  on  the  passing  scene,  which,  together 
with  a volume  of  Cecilia,  made  the  day  pass  not  very  tediously. 

“My  friends  always  carry  books  with  them,  even  when  they  go  abroad  for  a few  hours.  One  of  them,  to-day, 
produced  the  Maxims  of  La  Bruyere,  the  other  those  of  Eouchefoucauld,  and  some  minutes  were  consumed  in 
reading  and  commenting  on  these.  But  the  subject  which  engrossed  most  attention  in  the  morning  was  a plan 
for  procuring  a dozen  of  claret  for  the  embellishment  of  dinner;  and  the  return  of  man  and  chaise,  without 
the  claret,  for  which  he  had  been  sent  to  a distant  tavern,  cast  a depression  upon  the  spirits  of  most  of  us.  We 
got  rid  of  the  afternoon  pretty  easily,  by  giving  an  hour  or  two  to  the  bottle,  and  the  rest  to  the  siesta.  As  to 
our  talk  at  dinner,  there  was  perfect  good  humor,  and  a good  deal  of  inclination  to  be  witty,  but  I do  not 
recollect  a single  good  thing  that  deserves  to  be  recorded ; and  my  powers  do  not  enable  me  to  place  the  com- 
mon-place characters  around  me  in  an  interesting  or  amusing  point  of  view.  As  to  myself,  I am  never  at  home, 
never  in  my  element,  at  such  a place  as  this.  A thousand  nameless  restraints  incumber  my  speech  and  my  limbs, 
and  I cannot  even  listen  to  others  with  a gay  umembarrassed  mind.  Towards  evening  it  began  to  rain,  and  this  not 
only  imprisoned  us  for  the  present,  but  gave  us  some  apprehensions  of  a detention  here  for  a week  : a detention, 
that,  for  many  reasons,  one  of  which  I have  already  mentioned,  would  have  proved  extremely  disagreeable 
to  me. 

“My  friend,  I have  grown  very  tired  of  my  story.  I believe  I will  cut  short  the  rest,  and  carry  you  back  with 
me  next  morning,  to  New  York,  in  a couple  of  sentences.  The  weather  on  the  morrow  was  damp  and  lowering, 
but  it  cleared  up  early.  We  were  again  agreeably  disappointed  in  our  expectations  of  a crowded  stage,  and  after 
breakfasting  at  Jamaica,  reached  town  at  one  o’clock.  On  my  return,  I was  just  as  unobservant  of  the  passing 
scene  as  before,  and  took  as  little  note  of  the  geography  of  the  island.  Get  me  out  on  the  same  journey  again,  and 
I should  scarcely  recognize  a foot  of  the  way.  I saw  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  grasses,  bnt  I could  not  name  them, 
for  I am  no  botanist. 

“ Perhaps,  however,  I mistake  the  purpose  of  such  journeys,  which  is  not  to  exercise  the  reasoning  faculties 
or  to  add  to  knowledge,  but  to  unbend,  to  dissipate  thought  and  care,  and  to  strengthen  the  frame  and  refresh  the 
spirits,  by  mere  motion  and  variety.  This  is  the  language  which  my  friends  hold;  but,  I confess,  mere  mental 
vacmity  gives  me  neither  health  nor  pleasure.  To  give  time  wiugs,  my  attention  must  be  fixed  on  something;  I 
must  look  about  me  in  pursuit  of  some  expected  object ; I must  converse  with  my  companion  on  some  reasonable 
topic;  I must  find  some  image  in  my  own  fancy  to  examine,  or  the  way  is  painfully  tedious.  This  jaunt  to 


448 


APPENDIX. 


Rockaway  has  left  fow  agreeable  traces  behind  it.  All  I remember  with  any  pleasure,  are  the  appearance  of  the 
wide  ocean,  and  the  incidents  of  bathing  in  its  surges.  Had  I been  a botanist,  and  lighted  upon  some  new  plant; 
a mineralogist,  and  found  an  agate  or  a petrifaction ; an  entomologist,  and  caught  such  a butterfly  as  I never  saw 
before,  I should  have  reflected  on  the  journey  with  no  little  satisfaction.  As  it  was,  I set  my  foot  in  the  city 
with  no  other  sentiment  but  that  of  regret  for  not  having  employed  these  two  days  in  a very  different  manner.” 


VII. 

SCENES  AND  CHARACTERS  IN  NEW  YORK,  AS  REMEMBERED  BY  MR.  FRANCIS  HERBERT. 

Of  those  annual  miscellanies  of  literature  and  art,  which,  originating  in  Germany,  became  every 
where  so  popular  as  souvenirs  of  friendship  some  thirty  years  ago,  none  published  in  this  country 
had  greater  excellences  than  “ The  Talisman,”  pi;:  porting  to  be  written  by  one  Francis  Herbert, 
Esquire,  but  mainly  produced  by  the  now  venerable  Gulian  C.  Yerplanck,  William  C.  Bryant,  and 
the  late  Robert  C.  Sands.  The  three  volumes,  issued  in  IBS'?,  1828,  and  1829,  to  which  the  work 
extended,  have  become  very  rare,  and  probably  few  readers  of  the  present  time  therefore  have 
seen  those  agreeable  “ Reminiscences  of  New  York,”  the  composition  of  which  was  shared  by  Mr. 
Yerplanck  and  Mr.  Bryant,  that  are  contained  in  the  second  and  third  volumes.  As  they  illus- 
trate in  a pleasant  way  various  features  of  social  life  here,  in  the  days  of  Washington,  and 
to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  it  will  not  be  thought  that  the  following  extracts  from  them 
are  out  of  place  among  these  notes  : 

“New  York  is  full  of  old  reminiscences.  Some  are  consecrated  by  religious  feeling,  and  some  by  their  connec- 
tion with  the  political  destinies  of  our  country.  My  father  used  to  show  me,  when  a boy,  the  spot  on  the  North 
River,  just  above  the  present  Barclay  street  Ferry,  where  Jonathan  Edwards,  when  temporary  pastor  of  the  Wall 
street  church,  used  to  walk  backwards  and  forwards  on  the  solitary  pebbly  shore,  sounding  the  depths  of  his  own 
conscience,  and  drawing  ‘sweet  consolation’  from  the  religion  which  he  taught.  Here  he  ruminated  on  the  mys- 
teries of  eternal  preordination  and  free  will,  while  fell  upon  his  ear  the  murmurs  of  that  ocean  which  is  the  symbol 
of  eternity  and  power,  and  whose  motions  are  controlled,  like  the  events  of  our  own  lives,  by  the  word  and  will 
of  the  Most  High.  Then  likewise  he  showed  me  the  little  church,  back  of  the  site  of  the  present  Methodist  chapel 
in  John  street,  where  Whitfield,  as  my  father  expressed  it,  used  to  ‘preach  like  a lion,’  with  a searching  power  that 
made  the  sinner  quail,  and  shook  and  broke  the  infidel's  stony  heart.  It  was  in  Wall  street  that  the  apostolic  Ten- 
nant lifted  up  his  melodious  voice,  and  sounded  the  silver  trumpet  of  the  gospel. 

“In  New  York  the  philanthropic  Oglethorpe,  the  founder  of  Georgia,  landed  on  his  first  visit  to  America. 
This  benevolent  adventurer,  during  his  stay  in  the  city,  lodged,  I believe,  in  Stone  street.  At  the  corner  of  Broad- 
way, in  a house  looking  upon  the  Battery,  were  for  a while  the  head-quarters  of  Wolfe,  the  conqueror  of  Canada, 
and  afterwards  those  of  that  Lord  Howe,  who  fell  at  Ticonderoga  in  the  year  1756,  and  who,  but  for  his  untimely 
fate,  might  have  been  to  England  another  Marlborough. 

“ To  come  down  to  later  times.  On  the  site  of  the  present  Custom  House,  where  the  commerce  of  the  world 
pays  its  tribute  to  the  great  treasury  of  the  nation,  stood  the  old  City  Hall,  commanding  a view  of  the  wide  and 
winding  avenue  of  Broad  street.  Here,  in  a species  of  balcony,  in  the  second  story  of  the  building,  such  as  the 
Italians  call  a loggia,  mean  in  its  materials  of  wood  and  brick,  but  splendid  in  the  taste  and  proportions  given  to 
it  by  the  architect  L’Enfant,  the  inauguration  oath  of  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  Union  was  administered,  by 
Chancellor  Livingston,  to  Washington,  the  first  of  our  Presidents.  In  front  of  the  building  an  innumerable  and 
silent  crowd  of  citizens,  intently  gazing  on  the  august  ceremony,  thronged  the  spacious  area,  and  filled  Wall 
street  from  William  street  to  Broadway.  Behind  the  President  elect  stood  a group  of  the  illustrious  fathers 
of  the  nation,  Hamilton  and  Knox,  and  the  elder  Adams,  and  the  venerable  and  learned  and  eloquent  Johnson,  and 
Ellsworth  and  Sherman  of  Connecticut,  and  Clinton  and  Chief  Justice  Morris  and  Duane  of  New  York,  and  Bou- 
dinot  of  New  Jersey,  and  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  and,  less  conspicuous  in  person,  though  among  the  foremost 
in  fame,  the  Virginian  Madison.  There,  too,  stood  the  most  revered  of  the  clergy  of  New  York, — the  venerable 
Dr.  Rogers,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ; the  wise  and  mild  and  suasive  Dr.  Moore,  of  the  Episcopal ; the  dignified 
and  eloquent  Dr.  Livingston,  of  the  Dutch ; and  the  learned  Dr.  Kunze  and  the  patriotic  Dr.  Grose,  of  the  German 
churches.  Back  of  these  stood  younger  men,  since  scarcely  less  illustrious  than  the  elder  statesmen  I have  men- 
tioned— Ames,  and  Cabot,  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  majestic  and  graceful  in  spite  of  his  wooden  leg.  But  why 
should  I attempt  to  describe  this  great  occasion  by  words  ? I lately  looked  over  the  portfolio  of  my  friend  Dunlap, 
and  found,  among  many  other  fine  things,  sketches  which  present  this  scene  vividly  to  the  eye,  with  the  features 
of  the  great  men  who  figured  in  it,  and  their  costumes  and  attitudes,  as  he  himself  beheld  them.  I wish 
somebody  would  employ  him  to  paint  a noble  picture,  such  as  he  is  capable  of  producing,  on  this  magnificent  sub- 
ject. The  pride  of  a New  Yorker,  the  feelings  of  a patriot,  the  ambition  of  an  artist,  and  the  recollections  of  this 
nteresting  ceremony  which  still  live  in  his  memory,  would  stimulate  him  to  do  it  ample  justice. 

“Washington  afterwards  received  the  visits  and  congratulations  of  his  countrymen,  at  an  afternoon  levee,  a 
ceremony  which  was  then  thought  by  many  somewhat  too  formal  and  court-like  for  our  simple  and  republican 
manners,  though  now  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a very  plain  sort  of  a thing,  and  quite  a matter  of  course.  I 


APPENDIX. 


449 


forget  whether  it  was  held  at  the  fine  old  house  at  the  head  of  Pearl  street,  occupied  by  the  late  Franklin  Bank, 
or  the  other  spacious  mansion  in  Broadway,  now  Bunker’s  Hotel,  for  he  lived  in  both,  and  in  both  I visited  him. 

“ Cedar  street,  since  that  day,  has  declined  from  its  ancient  consequence.  I had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  an  old  two-story  house  in  that  street,  unbending  himself  in  the  society  of  the  learned  and  polite  from 
the  labors  of  the  bureau.  And  there  was  Talleyrand,  whom  I used  to  meet  at  the  houses  of  General  Hamilton 
and  of  Noah  'Webster,  with  his  club-foot  and  passionless  immovable  countenance,  sarcastic  and  malicious  even  in 
his  intercourse  with  children.  Ho  was  disposed  to  amuse  himself  with  gallantry  too;  but  who  does  not  know,  or 
rather,  who  ever  did  know  Talleyrand? — About  the  same  time  I met  with  Priestley — grave  and  placid  in  his  man- 
ners, with  a slight  difficulty  of  utterance — dry,  polite,  learned  and  instructive  in  his  conversation.  At  a period 
somewhat  later,  I saw  here  the  deputy  Billaud  do  Marennes,  who  had  swayed  the  blood-thirsty  mob  of  the 
Fauxbourg  St.  Antoine,  turned  the  torrent  of  the  multitude  into  the  hall  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  re- 
animated France  to  a bolder  and  more  vigorous  resistance  against  her  foreign  enemies.  I visited  him  in  the  garret 
of  a poor  tavern  in  the  upper  part  of  William  street,  where  he  lived  in  obscurity.  But  why  particularize  further? 
We  have  had  savans,  litterateurs,  and  politicians  by  the  score,  all  men  of  note,  some  good  and  some  bad — and  most 
of  whom  certainly  thought  that  they  attracted  more  attention  than  they  did — Yolney  and  Cobbett  and  Tom 
Moore,  and  the  two  Michaux,  and  the  Abbe  Correa,  and  Jeffrey,  and  others:  the  muster  roll  of  whose  names  I 
might  call  over,  if  I had  the  memory  of  Baron  Trenck,  and  my  readers  the  taste  of  a catalogue-making  librarian. 
Have  we  not  jostled  ex-kings  and  ex-empresses  and  ex-nobles  in  Broadway;  trod  on  the  toes  of  exotic  naturalists, 
Waterloo  marshals,  and  great  foreign  academicians,  at  the  parties  of  young  ladies;  and  seen  more  heroes  and 
generals  all  over  town  than  would  fill  a new  Iliad  ? 

“ Pensive  memory  turns  to  other  worthies,  no  less  illustrious  in  their  way.  There  was  Billy  the  Fiddler  and 
his  wife,  whom  no  one,  having  seen,  could  ever  forget,  and  no  one  who  had  music  in  his  soul,  remember,  without 
regretting  that  such  a fiddle  should  ever  have  been  hanged  up.  Billy  had  been  a favorite  of  Mozart,  at  Vienna, 
and  used  to  say  that  he  had  composed  one  (I  forget  which)  of  his  six  celebrated  sonatas ; though  I believe  he 
drew  rather  too  long  a bow  when  he  made  this  statement.  He  was  about  four  feet  six  inches  in  height,  with  a 
foot  as  long  as  a fourth  of  his  stature.  His  head  was  not  disproportionate,  as  those  of  dwarfs  usually  are ; but  he 
had  their  characteristic  petulance ; and  the  irritability  of  his  temper  was  certainly  not  improved  by  the  enforced 
attendance  of  a retinue  of  idle  boys,  who  always  formed  his  suite  when  he  walked  forth  in  the  streets.  His  wife  was 
a suitable  companion  for  him  as  to  personal  appearance  and  height;  and  it  seemed,  on  looking  at  the  couple,  to  be 
not  at  all  wonderful  how  the  Germans  came  by  their  wild  and  droll  conceptions  of  goblins  and  elves.  But  I 
never  heard  of  any  other  magic  practised  by  Billy,  except  that  the  sweet  and  enlivening  strains  of  his  violin 
made  the  young  masters  and  misses,  at  whose  juvenile  parties  he  officiated,  dance  off  the  soles  of  their  shoes  and 
stockings ; and  that  they  would  have  begun  upon  their  tender  skins,  if  they  had  not  been  discreetly  carried  home. 

“ There  was  also  the  family  of  the  He wletts,  which,  from  tradition  or  observation,  I may  say  I know  for  four 
generations, — cotemporaries  of  the  successive  Vestrises.  Indeed,  according  to  the  family  record,  the  first  Hewlett 
was  a pupil  of  the  first  Vestris,  and  a favorite  disciple  of  that  great  master;  who  only  complained  that  ho  was  not 
sufficiently  leger  in  his  ascents,  nor  quite  de  plorrib  enough  in  his  descents ; but  certified,  that  for  grace,  agility, 
and  science,  he  was  the  prince  of  the  eleves.  The  opinions  of  those,  successively  educated  under  the  successive 
dynasties  of  these  masters  of  aerial  gymnastics,  as  fashion  controlled  both  teaohers  and  scholars,  and  as  “longer 
puffs  and  louder  fiddles”  brought  other  professors  of  the  graces  of  motion  forward,  varied  as  to  the  distinctive 
characteristics  of  their  several  excellences.  Still  the  Hewletts  kept  their  ground.  They  outlived  the  revolu- 
tion of  seventy-six; — Trinity  Church  was  pulled  down — the  Governor's  Court  fled  from  the  Battery;  but  they 
kept  the  field,  like  the  trumpeters  of  chivalry.  They  taught  dancing  to  the  belles,  who  captivated  the  members 
of  the  first  Congress;  and  tried  to  teach  some  of  the  members  themselves.  Then  came  the  horrible  French 
Eevolution ; and  in  that  terrible  storm  which  overthrew  the  landmarks  of  the  old  world,  new  manners  and  new 
teachers  were  drifted  on  our  shores,  and  the  Hewletts  went  out  of  vogue.  There  must  be  few  who  have  dwelt  in 
this  now  all-be-metamorphosed  city,  even  for  six  years  last  past,  who  have  not  had  occasion  to  observe  the  dapper 
legs  and  silken  hose  of  the  last  of  this  line.  But  they  will  be  seen  no  more.  David  Hewlett  is  dead ; and  as 
he  trod  lightly  upon  the  earth,  may  the  earth  lie  lightly  upon  him.  He  was  a gentleman,  every  inch  of  him.  He 
was  the  last  of  the  ante-revolutionary  dancing-masters : a kind,  good,  humble  man.  At  St.  Paul’s  I always  found 
him,  repeating  the  service  with  a formality,  which  was  the  result  pf  decorous  habit,  and  a fervor  which  could 
only  have  come  warm  from  the  heart.  Again  I say,  light  be  the  earth  above  him ! and  he  must  have  a stern, 
hard  heart,  who  can  scoff  at  my  honest  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  old  dancing-master. 

“My  reminiscences  of  New  York,  or  rather  the  people  that  have  been  in  it,  come  before  my  mind  in  pretty 
much  the  same  order  that  “jewels  and  shells,  sea-weed  and  straw,”  are  raked  by  “ old  father  Time  from  the  ocean 
of  the  past,”  according  to  Milton  or  Bacon,  or  some  other  ancient  writer  of  eminence.  I had  an  uncle,  who  was  a 
prudent  man,  in  all  his  transactions ; and  who,  from  patriotic  considerations,  waited  for  the  development  of 
events,  before  he  took  any  part  in  the  revolutionary  war.  He  had  many  of  what  might  he  called  tory  recollec- 
tions of  that  period.  He  knew  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  when  he  came  here  as  a midshipman ; skated  with  him  on 
the  Collect,  where  now  stand  the  arsenal  and  the  gas  manufactory,  and  helped  out  of  a hole  in  the  ice  him  who  is 
now  official  head  of  the  English  navy,  and  who  may  probably  wield,  ere  long,  the  sceptre  of  the  British  Empire. 
In  walking  along  Broadway,  he  has  often  pointed  out  to  me  the  small  corner-room  in  the  second  story  of  the 
house  in  ‘Wall  street,  opposite  Grace  Church,  then  and  long  after  occupied  by  Dr.  Tillary,  a Scotchman,  (formerly 
a surgeon  and  afterwards  an  eminent  physician,)  and  told  me  how  he  used,  at  the  period  referred  to,  to  eat  oysters 
there,  in  the  American  fashion,  with  his  Eoyal  Highness,  who  preferred  them  to  the  copper-flavored  productions 
of  the  British  Channel. 

“Pine  street  is  now  full  of  blocks  of  tall  massy  buildings,  which  overshadow  the  narrow  passage  between,  and 
make  it  one  of  the  gloomiest  streets  in  New  York.  The  very  bricks  there  look  of  a darker  hue  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  city ; the  rays  of  the  sun  6eem  to  come  through  a yellower  and  thicker  atmosphere,  and  the  shadows 

57 


450 


APPENDIX. 


thrown  there  by  moonlight  6eem  of  a blacker  and  more  solid  darkness  than  elsewhere.  The  sober  occi» 
pations  of  the  inhabitants  also,  who  are  learned  members  of  the  bar  nearest  Broadway,  and  calculating  whole- 
sale merchants  as  you  approach  the  East  River,  inspire  you  with  ideas  of  sedateness  and  gravity  as  yon  walk 
through  it.  It  was  not  thus  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  Shops  were  on  each  side  of  the  way,  low,  cheerful-look- 
ing two-story  buildings,  of  light-colored  brick  or  wood,  painted  white  or  yellow,  and  they  scarcely  seemed  a 
hindrance  to  the  air  and  sunshine.  Among  these  stood  the  shop  of  Auguste  Louis  de  Singeron,  celebrated  for  the 
neatness  and  quality  of  its  confectionery  and  pastry,  and  for  the  singular  manners  of  its  keeper,  who  was  at  once 
the  politest  and  most  passionate  of  men.  He  was  a French  emigrant,  a courtier  and  a warrior,  a man  of  dimina- 
tive  size,  but  of  a most  chivalrous,  courteous,  and  undaunted  spirit.  He  might  be  about  five  feet  two  inches  in 
height;  his  broad  shoulders  overshadowed  a pair  of  legs  under  the  common  size,  his  fiery  red  hair  was  tied  into 
club  behind,  and  combed  fiercely  up  in  front;  the  upper  part  of  his  cheek  bones,  the  tip  of  his  nose,  and  the 
peak  of  his  chin,  were  tinged  with  a bright  scarlet ; his  voice  was.an  exaggeration  of  the  usual  sharp  tones  of 
his  nation,  and  his  walk  was  that  of  a man  who  walks  for  a wager.  He  was  the  younger  son  of  a noble  family, 
and  having  a commission  in  the  French  army,  was  one  of  the  officers  who  defended  the  Tuileries  on  the  melan- 
choly night  of  the  tenth  of  August,  1792,  when  the  palace  streamed  with  blood,  and  the  devoted  adherents  of  the 
king  were  bayoneted  in  the  corridors,  or  escaped  only  to  be  prescribed  and  hunted  down  like  wolves.  Augusta 
Louis  de  Singeron  made  his  way  to  L’Orient,  took  passage  for  the  United  States,  and  landed  at  New  York  without 
a penny  in  his  pocket.  His  whole  inventory  consisted  of  a cocked  hat,  a rusty  suit  of  black,  a cane,  a small  sword, 
a white  pocket  handkerchief,  and  shirts,  if  I am  justified  in  speaking  of  them  in  the  plural,  the  exact  number  of 
which  cannot  now  be  known,  as  he  never  chose  to  reveal  it,  but  which  looked  as  if  they  had  never  been  brought 
acquainted  with  the  nymphs  of  the  fountains.  He  at  first  betook  himself  to  the  usual  expedient  of  teaching 
French  for  a livelihood,  but  it  would  not  do.  He  lost  all  patience  at  correcting,  for  the  twentieth  time,  the  same 
blunder  in  the  same  pupil,  he  showed  no  mercy  to  an  indelicate  coupling  of  different  genders,  and  fell  upon  a 
false  tense  with  as  much  impetuosity  as  he  had  once  rushed  upon  the  battery  of  an  enemy.  But  if  he  got  into  a 
passion  suddenly,  he  got  out  of  it  as  soon.  His  starts  of  irritation  were  succeeded  by  most  vehement  fits  of 
politeness;  he  poured  forth  apologies  with  so  much  volubility,  and  so  many  bows,  and  pressed  his  explanations 
with  so  much  earnestness  and  vigor,  and  such  unintelligible  precipitation,  that  his  pupils  became  giddy  with  the 
noise,  and  at  the  end  of  his  lesson  were  more  perplexed  than  ever.  In  short,  to  apply  the  boast  of  a celebrated 
modern  instructor,  his  disciples  were  so  well  satisfied  with  their  progress,  that  they  declined  taking  lessons  a second 
quarter,  and  the  poor  Frenchman  was  obliged  to  think  of  some  other  way  of  getting  a living.  But  what  should 
it  be  ? He  had  no  capital  and  scarcely  any  friends.  Should  he  become  a barber,  a shoeblack,  a cook,  a fencing- 
master,  a dentist,  or  a dancing  master?  Either  of  these  occupations  was  better  than  to  beg,  to  starve,  or  to  steal, 
and  the  French  nobility  have  figured  in  them  all. — The  flexibility  of  the  national  character  adapts  itself  in  mature 
age  to  any  situation  in  life  with  the  same  ease  that  people  of  other  nations  accommodate  themselves  to  tha  t in 
which  they  are  born.  French  marquises  have  sweltered  in  the  kitchens  of  English  private  gentlemen,  in  greasy 
caps  and  aprons — French  counts  have  given  the  polish  to  the  nether  extremities  of  the  stately  dons  of  Madrid — 
and  French  dukes  have  taken  German  ones  by  the  nose.  The  graceful  courtiers,  who  led  down  the  dance  the 
high-born  dames  of  France,  have  exhausted  themselves  in  the  vain  effort  to  teach  Yorkshiremen  to  shuffle 
cotillons;  the  officers  of  his  most  Christian  Majesty’s  household  have  drawn  teeth  for  cockneys;  and  the 
chevaliers  of  the  order  of  St.  Louis  have  given  lessons  in  the  use  of  the  broad-sword  to  men  who  afterwards 
figured  as  Yankee  corporals.  In  the  midst  of  his  perplexity  a mere  accident  determined  the  future  career  of 
Monsieur  de  Singeron.  He  had  politely  undertaken  to  assist  in  the  manufacture  of  some  molasses  candy  for  a 
little  boy,  the  son  of  his  host;  and,  after  a process  attended  with  some  vexations,  during  which  the  lad  thought 
two  or  three  times  that  his  French  acquaintance  would  swallow  him  alive,  he  produced  the  article  in  such 
delicious  and  melting  perfection,  that  his  fame  was  quickly  spread  abroad  among  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood, 
as  an  artist  of  incomparable  merit.  He  took  the  hint,  got  his  landlord  to  assist  him  with  a small  credit,  turned 
pastry  cook  and  confectioner,  set  up  in  at  first  a small  way,  enlarged  his  business  as  he  got  customers,  and  finally 
took  a handsome  shop  in  the  street  I have  mentioned.  The  French  have  as  great  a talent  for  comfits  as  for  com- 
pliments ; and  the  genius  that  shines  in  the  invention  of  an  agreeable  flattery,  displays  itself  to  no  less  advantage 
in  the  manufacture  of  a sugar  plum.  Auguste  Louis  de  Singeron  was  no  vulgar  imitator  of  his  clumsy  English 
and  Dutch  brethren  in  the  art.  I speak  not  of  the  splendor  of  his  crystallizations,  of  the  brilliant  frost-work  of 
his  plum  cakes,  nor  of  the  tempting  arrangement  he  knew  how  to  give  to  his  whole  stock  of  wares,  though  these 
were  admirable.  But  the  gilt  gingerbread  I used  to  buy  of  him,  instead  of  King  Solomon  and  the  Queen  of 
Sheba,  was  graced  with  the  stately  figures  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Mario  Antoinette,  the  queen  standing  bolt  upright, 
as  became  the  conqueror  of  hearts  and  the  mistress  of  the  finest  kingdom  in  the  world,  and  the  monarch  holding 
her  hand  with  a delicate  inclination  of  his  royal  body,  as  if  acknowledging  the  empire  of  beauty.  He,  I believe, 
first  introduced  the  practice  of  stamping  the  New  Year’s  cako  with  figures  of  Cupids  among  roses  and  hearts 
transfixed  by  an  arrow  in  honor  of  la  belle  passion.  His  marchpane  bore  an  impress  of  the  facade  of  the 
Tuileries  with  its  pilasters,  columns,  and  carvings : and  his  blanc-mange  was  adorned  with  a bas-relief  of  war- 
riors in  bag  wigs  and  cocked  hats,  tilting  fiercely  at  each  other  on  its  quivering  and  glancing  surface. 

“ I shall  never  forget  the  courtly  and  high-bred  civility  with  which  M.  de  Singeron  used  to  welcome  me  to 
his  shop,  and  bow  me  out  of  it.  I have  since  seen  the  nobles  of  the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette,  and  was  no  longer 
at  a loss  to  account  for  the  graceful  manners  of  my  old  friend  the  confectioner.  It  was  not,  however,  quite  safe  to 
presume  too  much  upon  his  forbearance,  for  he  knew  no  medium  between  the  most  violent  irritation  and  the 
most  florid  politeness.  He  had  no  patience  with  those  people  who  stood  in  his  door  on  a keen  windy  day,  and 
would  neither  come  in  nor  go  out.  They  always  got  from  him  a hearty  curse  in  French,  followed,  as  soon  as  he 
could  recollect  himself,  by  something  civil  in  English.  “Peste  soit  de  la  bete” — -he  used  to  say — “Fermezdonc 
la — I beg  pardon,  sare,  but  if  you  vill  shut  de  door,  you  sail  merit  my  eternal  gratitude ! ” The  fellows  who 
went  about  the  streets  crying  “ good  oysters,”  and  “ fino  Rockaway  clams,”  avoided  his  ill-omened  door  in  the 


APPENDIX. 


451 


winter  months,  taught  by  bitter  experience,  and  sundiy  ungracious  and  unexpected  raps  on  the  knuckles.  He  at 
first  tried  the  plan  of  making  them  come  in,  shut  the  door,  and  deliver  their  errand,  and  then  sending  them  about 
their  business.  This  not  succeeding,  he  tried  the  shining  old  lignum  vitae  cane,  with  which  he  used  to  promenade 
in  the  gardens  of  the  Tnileries,  and  with  much  better  effect.  On  one  occasion,  however,  he  happened  to  bestow  it 
rather  rudely  upon  the  nasal  organ  of  a sailor.  The  fellow’s  proboscis  was  originally  of  most  unnatural  and  por- 
tentous dimensions,  it  swelled  terribly  from  the  effect  of  the  blow,  and  meeting  with  a pettifogger,  who  told  him 
it  was  a good  case  for  damages,  he  brought  an  action  against  the  confectioner.  Monsieur  de  Singeron  in  vain 
offered  an  apology  and  a plaster  of  bank  notes,  the  sailor  was  inexorable,  and  insisted  on  producing  his  injured 
member  before  the  seat  of  justice.  He  did  so,  but  unluckily  the  effect  on  the  jury  was  rather  ludicrous  than 
pathetic,  and  the  impression  it  made  was  against  the  plaintiff,  who  got  only  ten  shillings  by  his  suit.  M.  de  Sin- 
geron thought  it  was  not  enough,  and  gave  the  fellow  a five-dollar  note  besides,  which  he  had  the  meanness  to  ac 
cept,  though  I believe  he  blushed  as  he  did  it. 

“Monsieur  de  Singeron  afterwards  sold  cakes  and  confectionery  in  William  street  and  then  in  Broadway,  and 
finally  was  one  of  that  joyful  troup  of  returning  exiles  that  flocked  back  to  France  on  the  restoration  of  the 
Bourbons.  He  was  provided  for  by  being  made  a Colonel  of  the  Cuirassiers,  and  in  the  decline  of  his  life  his 
gallant  and  courteous  spirit  was  no  longer  obliged  to  struggle  with  the  hardships  and  scorns  of  poverty.  X have 
lately  heard,  though  indirectly,  so  that  I cannot  vouch  for  the  fact,  that  he  has  been  promoted  to  be  one  of  the 
Marshals  of  France. 

“There  was  another  Frenchman  of  distinction,  also  of  the  old  school  of  French  manners,  but  less  fortunate 
than  Monsieur  de  Singeron,  who  used  daily  to  take  his  solitary  walk  through  Broadway.  I allude  to  Admiral 
Pierre  de  Landais,  a cadet  of  the  family  of  a younger  son  of  the  youngest  branch  of  one  of  the  oldest,  proudest, 
and  poorest  families  in  Normandy.  He  had  regularly  studied  in  the  Ecole  de  la  marine , and  was  thoroughly 
instructed  in  the  mathematical  theories  of  sailing  and  building  a ship,  although,  like  the  rest  of  his  countrymen, 
he  always  found  some  unexpected  difficulty  in  applying  his  theory  to  practice.  For  a Frenchman,  however,  ho 
was  a good  sailor ; but  in  consequence  of  his  grandfather  having  exhausted  his  patrimony  in  a splendid  exhibition 
of  fireworks  for  the  entertainment  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  he  had  neither  interest  at  court  nor  money  to 
purchase  court-favor.  He  was  therefore  kept  in  the  situation  of  an  aspirant  or  midshipman  i.i-tii  he  was  thirty- 
two  years  old,  and  I know  not  how  many  years  more  in  the  humble  rank  of  sous  lieutenant.  He  served  his 
country  faithfully  and  with  great  good  will  until,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVT.,  a page  of  the 
mistress  of  the  Count  de  Tergennes  came  down  to  Cherbourg  to  be  his  captain.  While  he  was  boiling  with  in- 
dignation at  this  affront,  the  war  between  England  and  America  broke  out,  and  he  seized  that  opportunity  to 
enter  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Here  he  at  once  rose  to  the  command  of  a fine  frigate,  and  the  title  of 
admiral.  Soon  after  came  the  brilliant  affair  of  the  Serapis  and  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  in  which  Paul  Jones, 
by  his  impetuous  and  undisciplined  gallantry,  earned  the  reputation  of  a hero,  and  poor  Landais,  by  a too  scrupu- 
lous attention  to  the  theory  of  naval  science,  incurred  that  of  a coward.  I believe  that  naval  authority  is  against 
me : but  I venture  to  assert,  meo  periculo,  on  the  authority  of  one  of  my  uncles,  who  was  in  that  action  as  a 
lieutenant  to  Paul  Jones,  that  Landais  erred  not  ’through  any  defect  of  bravery,  but  merely  from  his  desire  to 
approach  his  enemy  scientifically,  by  bearing  down  upon  the  hypothenuso  of  the  precise  right-angled  triangle 
prescribed  in  the  thirty-seventh  “ manoeuvre ” of  his  old  text-book. 

“ The  naval  committee  of  Congress  unfortunately  understood  neither  mathematics  nor  French;  they  could 
not  comprehend  Landais’s  explanations,  and  he  was  thrown  out  of  service.  After  his  disgrace  he  constantly  re- 
sided in  the  city  of  New  York,  except  that  he  always  made  a biennial  visit  to  the  seat  of  government,  to  present  a 
memorial  respecting  the  injustice  done  him,  and  to  claim  restitution  to  his  rank  and  the  arrears  of  his  pay.  An 
unexpected  dividend  of  prize  money,  earned  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  paid  in  1790,  gave  him 
an  annuity  of  one  hundred  and  four  dollars — or  rather,  as  I think,  one  hundred  and  five — for  I remember  his  telling 
me  that  he  had  two  dollars  a week  on  which  to  subsist,  and  an  odd  dollar  for  charity  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

“ Although  Congress  under  the  new  constitution  continued  as  obdurate  and  as  impenetrable  to  explanation  as 
they  were  in  the  time  of  the  confederation,  the  admiral  kept  up  to  the  last  the  habits  and  exterior  of  a gentleman. 
His  linen,  though  not  very  fine,  nor  probably  very  whole,  was  always  clean ; his  coat  threadbare,  but  scrupulously 
brushed ; and  for  occasions  of  ceremonious  visiting,  he  had  a pair  of  paste  knee-buckles  and  faded  yellow  silk 
stockings  with  red  clocks.  He  wore  the  American  cockade  to  the  last,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July,  the  day  of  St. 
Louis,  and  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  the  British  troops  evacuated  the  city  of  New  York,  he  periodi- 
cally mounted  his  old  continental  naval  uniform,  although  its  big  brass  buttons  had  lost  their  splendor,  and  the 
skirts  of  the  coat,  which  wrapped  his  shrunken  person  like  a cloak,  touched  his  heels  in  walking,  while  the  sleeves, 
by  some  contradictory  process  had  receded  several  inches  from  the  wrists.  He  subsisted  with  the  utmost  inde- 
pendence on  his  scanty  income,  refusing  all  presents,  even  the  most  trifling ; and  when  my  naval  uncle,  on  one 
occasion  sent  him  a dozen  of  Newark  cider,  as  a small  mark  of  his  recollection  of  certain  hospitalities  at  the 
admiral’s  table  when  in  command,  while  he  himself  was  but  a poor  lieutenant,  Landais  peremptorily  refused  them 
as  a present  which  he  could  not  receive,  because  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  reciprocate. 

“ He  was  a man  of  the  most  punctilious  and  chivalric  honor,  and  at  the  same  time  full  of  that  instinctive  kind- 
ness of  heart  and  that  nice  sense  of  propriety,  which  shrinks  from  doing  a rude  thing  to  any  body  on  any  occasion. 
Even  when  he  methis  bitterest  enemy,  as  he  did  shortly  after  he  came  to  New  York,  the  man  whose  accusation  had 
destroyed  his  reputation  and  blighted  his  prospects,  whose  injuries  he  had  for  years  brooded  over,  and  whom  he 
had  determined  to  insult  and  punish  whenever  he  fell  in  with  him,  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  offer  him  any 
insult  unbecoming  a gentleman,  but  deliberately  spitting  on  the  pavement,  desired  his  adversary  to  consider  that 
pavement  as  his  own  face,  and  to  proceed  accordingly. 

“ Thus,  in  proud,  solitary,  and  honorable  poverty,  lived  Pierre  de  Landais,  for  some  forty  years,  until,  to  use 
the  language  of  his  own  epitaph,  in  the  eighthty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  he  “ disappeared  ” from  this  life.  As  he 
left  no  property  behind  him,  and  had  no  relations  and  scarcely  any  acquaintances  in  the  country,  it  has  always 


452 


APPENDIX. 


been  a matter  of  mystery  to  me,  who  erected  his  monument,  a plain  white  marble  slab,  which  stands  in  tht 
church-yard  of  St.  Patrick’s  Cathedral,  in  New  York.” 

“Who  would  suppose  that  the  exploded  science  of  alchemy  had  ever  its  professors  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  easy  transmutation  of  the  soil  of  the  wilderness  into  rich  possessions  renders  unnecessary  the  art  of  con- 
verting dross  into  gold  ? Yet  such  is  the  fact.  Every  body  who  has  been  a frequent  walker  of  Broadway,  in  any 
or  all  of  the  forty  years  preceding  the  last  five,*  must  recollect  often  meeting  a man  whom  at  first  he  might  not 
have  particularly  noticed,  but  whose  constant  appearance  in  the  same  part  of  the  street  at  the  same  hour  of  the 
day,  and  the  peculiarities  of  whose  dress  and  person,  must  at  length  have  compelled  attention.  He  was  a plump- 
looking man,  somewhat  under  the  middle  size,  with  well-spread  shoulders,  a large  chest,  a fair  fresh  complexion, 
a clear  but  dreamy  eye,  and  a short  quick  stride,  and  had  altogether  the  signs  of  that  fulness  of  habit  which 
arises  from  regular  exercise  and  a good  appetite,  while  a certain  ascetic  expression  of  countenance  at  once  forbade 
the  idea  that  it  owed  any  thing  to  festivity  or  good  cheer.  His  age,  which  never  appeared  to  vary,  might,  from 
his  looks,  be  estimated  at  five  years  on  the  one  side  or  the  . ther  of  fifty.  His  dress  was  that  of  an  old-fashioned, 
respectable  citizen,  educated  before  the  age  of  suspenders,  j antaloons,  and  boots,  and  who  had  never  been  per- 
suaded to  countenance  those  innovations  of  modern  effeminacy.  Notwithstanding  its  obsolete  cut,  it  showed  no 
signs  of  poverty  except  perhaps  to  those,  and  those  only,  who  occasionally  met  him  sweltering,  with  a laudable 
contempt  for  the  weather,  in  a full  suit  of  thick  Prussian  blue  or  Dutch  black  broadcloth  in  a hot  August  day; 
or  striding  through  a snow  storm,  in  nankeen  breeches  and  white  cotton  stockings,  in  December.  His  name  was 
Jan  Max-Lichenstein ; he  was  by  birth  a Pomeranian,  and  early  in  life  going  to  Amsterdam  to  seek  his  fortune, 
became  employed  as  a clerk  in  the  great  Dutch  banking  and  commercial  house  of  Hope  and  Co.,  with  whom  he 
proved  himself  a good  accountant,  and  rendered  himself  useful  in  their  German  and  Swedish  correspondence. 

“ Afterwards,  by  some  accident  or  other,  he  found  himself  an  adventurer  at  St.  Petersburg.  What  led  him 
to  that  city  I cannot  say;  I have  never  heard  it  accounted  for  among  his  acquaintances  in  this  city,  at  Amsterdam 
I forgot  to  inquire,  and  St.  Petersburg  I have  never  visited.  But  thither  he  went,  and  having  the  good  fortune  to 
become  known  to  Prince  Potemkin,  received  an  employment  in  his  household,  and  finally  came  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  management  of  his  finances.  The  prince,  as  every  body  knows,  like  many  others,  who  have  millions  to 
dispose  of,  had  constantly  occasion  for  millions  more ; and  as  every  body  also  ought  to  know,  who  knows  any 
thing  of  his  private  history,  when  his  funds  were  so  reduced  that  he  had  nothing  left  but  a few  millions  of  acres 
and  a few  thousand  serfs,  took  most  furiously  to  gambling  and  alchemy.  These  liberal  employments  were  divided 
between  him  and  his  treasurer ; the  prince  rattled  the  dice-box  in  the  gilded  saloons  of  Tzarzko  Zelo,  and  the 
Pomeranian,  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances  and  his  own  better  judgment,  was  set  to  compounding  the  alkahest  or 
universal  menstruum,  in  the  vaults  under  the  north  wing  of  Potemkin’s  winter  palace.  We  soon  get  attached  to 
the  studies  in  which  we  are  obliged  to  employ  ourselves,  and  Lichenstein  gradually  found  his  incredulity 
yielding,  and  a strange  interest  stealing  over  him,  as  he  read  the  books  and  sweated  and  watched  over  the 
operations  of  alchemy.  The  result  was,  that  at  length  he  became  a believer  in  the  mysteries  of  imbibition,  solu- 
tion, ablution,  sublimation,  cohabation,  calcination,  ceration,  and  fixation,  and  all  the  martyrizations  of  metals, 
with  the  sublime  influences  of  the  Trine  Circle  of  the  Seven  Spheres. 

“Lichenstein,  however,  with  all  his  diligence  and  increase  of  faith,  could  neither  coin  gold  nor  get  it  out  of 
the  prince’s  tenants  in  such  quantities  as  it  was  wanted,  and  he  was  now  destined  to  learn  how  much  the  favor  of 
the  great  depends  upon  the  state  of  their  stomachs.  One  morning,  Potemkin,  after  a run  of  bad  luck,  plenty  of 
good  champagne,  a sleepless  night,  and  an  indigestible  breakfast  of  raw  turnips  and  quass,  called  upon  him  for  an 
extraordinary  sum,  and  not  finding  it  easily  furnished,  flew  into  a passion  and  discharged  him  on  the  spot.  As 
the  prince  never  paid  any  debts  but  those  of  honor,  Lichenstein  knew  it  would  be  in  vain  to  ask  for  his  salary, 
and  walked  into  the  streets  without  a penny  in  his  pocket.  The  late  Chief  Justice  Dana,  of  Massachusetts,  then 
our  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  was  about  to  return  to  America.  Lichenstein  had  heard  the  most 
flattering  accounts  of  the  prospects  held  out  in  the  United  States  to  active  and  intelligent  adventurers  from  the 
old  world,  and  readily  believed  all  he  heard,  which,  for  a believer  in  alchemy,  was  no  great  stretch  of  credulity. 
He  had  some  little  acquaintance  with  the  American  minister,  in  consequence  of  once  or  twice  negotiating  for  him 
6mall  bills  on  the  bankers  of  the  United  States  at  Amsterdam.  He  threw  himself  upon  his  generosity,  and  re- 
quested a passage  to  this  country,  a favor  which  was  as  readily  granted.  Here  he  was  fortunate  enough  almost 
immediately  on  his  arrival  to  be  employed  in  the  first  mercantile  house  in  New  York,  to  answer  their  Dutch, 
German,  and  northern  correspondence,  Avith  a salary,  which  though  not  half  so  large  as  that  allowed  by  Prince 
Potemkin,  he  liked  twice  as  well,  because  it  Avas  regularly  paid.  He  had  scarcely  become  well  settled  in  New 
York,  when  his  old  dream  of  alchemy  returned  upon  him.  He  carefully  hoarded  his  earnings  until  he  was 
enabled  to  purchase,  at  a cheap  rate,  a small  tenement  in  Wall  street,  where  he  erected  a furnace  with  a triple 
chimney,  and  renewed  his  search  of  the  arcanum  magnum.  Every  day  in  the  morning  he  was  occupied  for  two 
hours  in  the  counting  room,  then  he  was  seen  walking  in  Broadway,  then  he  shut  himself  in  his  laboratory  until 
the  dusk  of  the  evening,  Avhen  he  issued  forth  to  resume  his  solitary  walk. 

“Year  after  year  passed  in  this  manner.  Wall  street,  in  the  mean  time,  was  changing  its  inhabitants;  its 
burghers  gave  Avay  to  banks  and  brokers ; the  city  extended  its  limits,  and  the  streets  became  thronged  with  increas- 
ing multitudes;  circumstances  of  which  the  alchemist  took  no  note,  except  that  he  could  not  help  observing  that 
he  was  obliged  to  take  a longer  walk  than  formerly  to  get  into  the  country,  and  that  the  rows  of  lamps  on  each  side 
of  Broadway  seemed  to  have  lengthened  Avondcrfully  towards  the  north ; but  whether  this  was  owing  to  the 
advance  of  old  age,  which  made  his  walk  more  fatiguing,  or  to  some  other  unknown  cause,  was  a problem  which  I 
believe  he  never  fully  solved  to  his  own  satisfaction. 

“ Still  the  secret  of  making  gold  seemed  as  distant  as  ever,  until  it  presented  itself  to  him  in  an  unexpected 
shape.  His  lot  in  Wall  street,  Avhich  measured  twenty-eight  feet  in  front,  and  eighty-seven  in  depth,  and  for 

* This,  it  will  be  remembered,  wao  written  in  1827 


APPENDIX. 


453 


which  ho  paid  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  New  York  currency,  had  become  a desirable  site  for  a newly 
chartered  banking  company.  One  day  Lichenstein  was  called  by  the  president  of  this  company  from  his  furnace, 
as  he  was  pouring  rectified  water  on  the  salt  of  Mercury.  He  felt  somewhat  crusty  at  the  interruption,  as  he 
hoped  by  reverberating  the  ingredients  in  Athanor,  to  set  the  liquor  of  Mars  in  circulation ; but  when  this  person 
had  opened  to  him  his  errand,  and  offered  him  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  his  lot,  his  ill 
humor  -was  converted  into  surprise.  Had  he  been  offered  five  thousand  he  would  have  accepted  it  imme- 
diately: but  twenty-five  thousand!— the  amount  startled  him — he  took  time  to  consider  of  the  proposition,  and 
the  next  morning  was  offered  thirty-thousand  by  a rival  company.  He  must  think  of  this  also — and  before  night 
he  sold  to  the  first  company  for  thirty-three  thousand.  He  was  now  possessed  of  a competency;  he  quitted  his 
old  vocation  of  clerk,  abandoned  his  old  walk  in  Broadway,  and  like  Admiral  Landais  4 disappeared 1 — but  not, 
I believe,  like  him,  to  another  life.  I have  heard  that  his  furnace  has  again  been  seen  smoking  behind  a com- 
fortable German  stone  house  in  the  comfortable  borough  of  Easton,  a residence  which  he  chose,  not  merely  on 
account  of  its  cheapness  of  living,  nor  its  picturesque  situation,  but  chiefly  I believe  for  its  neighborhood  to 
Bethlehem,  where  dwelt  a Moravian  friend  of  his  attached  to  the  same  mysterious  studies,  and  for  its  nearness  to 
the  inexhaustible  coal  mines  of  Lehigh. 

“As  I write,  my  recollections  of  the  past,  both  ludicrous  and  melancholy,  crowd  upon  me.  I might  amuse 
my  readers  with  a history  of  the ‘Doctors’ Mob,’ which  happened  some  forty  years  ago,  when  the  multitude, 
indignant  with  the  physicians  and  surgeons  for  having,  as  was  supposed,  violated  the  repose  of  the  dead,  be- 
sieged them  in  their  dwellings  with  an  intention  to  inflict  justice  upon  them  according  to  their  own  summary 
notions,  obliging  them  to  slip  out  at  windows,  creep  behind  beer  barrels,  crawl  up  chimneys,  and  get  beneath 
feather-beds, — and  when  the  grave  gentlemen  of  the  healing  art  were  fed  in  dark  places  like  haunted  rebels  or 
persecuted  prophets,  for  three  days  and  three  nights.  I might  give  my  readers  a peep  into  a little  dark  r<xin  in 
Pine  street  where  Brown  used  to  frame  his  gloomy  and  interesting  fictions,  without  any  aid  from  the  picturesque, 
and  entangle  his  heroes  in  one  difficulty  after  another  without  knowing  how  he  should  extricate  them.  I might 
show,  residing  in  that  part  of  Pearl  street  now  enlarged  into  Hanover  square,  but  then  a dark  and  narrow  passage, 
the  famous  General  Moreau,  who,  when  told  that  the  street  was  not  fashionable,  replied  that  he  ‘ lived  in  de  house, 
and  not  in  de  street;’ — a conceited  grammarian,  talking  absurdly  of  that  science,  and  magnifying  its  supposed 
discovery  of  three  thousand  new  adverbs ; but  otherwise  gentlemanly,  intelligent,  and  agreeable,  and  fortunate  in 
his  beautiful  and  accomplished  wife.”  .... 

“ I confess  that  I value  much  less  any  reputation  which  I might  gain  as  a writer  of  romance  and  poetry,  and 
as  a painter  of  manners,  than  the  fame  to  be  derived  from  the  less  ambitious  but  perhaps  more  useful  office  of 
faithfully  gathering  up  and  preserving  those  fragments  of  tradition  and  biography,  which  give  to  history  its  living 
interest,  and  embody  with  the  objects  which  we  behold  around  us  the  memory  of  the  good  or  wise  who  once  lived 
among  them.  Even  the  traditions  of  more  frivolous  personages,  as  they  may  perhaps  appear  to  some  readers,  are 
not  wholly  without  their  value,  as  being  even  more  than  the  boasted  stage,  the  4 mirrors  and  brief  chronicles  of  the 
time.’  In  this  city  especially,  it  is  of  more  importance  to  preserve  the  recollection  of  these  things,  since  here  the 
progress  of  continual  alteration  is  so  rapid,  that  a few  years  effect  what  in  Europe  is  the  work  of  centuries,  and 
sweep  away  both  the  memory  and  the  external  vestiges  of  the  generation  that  precedes  us. 

“ I was  forcibly  struck  with  this  last  reflection  when  not  long  since  I took  a walk  with  my  friend  Mr.  De  Yielle- 
cour,  during  his  last  visit  to  New  York,  over  what  I recollected  as  the  play  ground  of  myself  and  my  companions 
in  the  time  of  my  boyhood,  and  what  Mr.  De  Viellecour  remembered  as  the  spot  where  his  contemporaries  at  an 
early  period  used  to  shoot  quails  and  woodcocks.  "We  passed  over  a part  of  the  city  which  in  my  time  had  been 
hills,  hollows,  marshes,  and  rivulets,  without  having  observed  any  thing  to  awaken  in  either  of  us  a recollection  of 
what  the  place  was  before  the  surface  had  been  levelled  and  the  houses  erected,  until,  arriving  at  the  corner  of 
Charlton  and  Yarick  streets,  we  came  to  an  edifice  utterly  dissimilar  to  any  thing  around  it.  It  was  a wooden 
building  of  massive  architecture,  with  a lofty  portico  supported  by  Ionic  columns,  the  front  walls  decorated  with 
pilasters  of  the  same  order,  and  its  whole  appearance  distinguished  by  that  palladian  character  of  rich  though  sober 
ornament,  which  indicated  that  it  had  been  built  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Wo  both  stopped  involun- 
tarily and  at  the  same  moment  before  it. 

“ 4 If  I did  not  see  that  house  on  a flat  plain,’  said  Mr.  De  Yiellecour,  ‘penned  in  by  this  little  gravelly  court- 
yard, and  surrounded  by  these  starveling  catalpas  and  horse  chesnnts,  I should  say  at  once  that  it  was  a mansion 
which  I very  well  remember,  where  in  my  youth  I passed  many  pleasant  hours  in  the  society  of  its  hospitable 
owner,  and  where,  afterwards,  when  I had  the  honor  of  representing  my  county  in  the  Assembly,  which  then  sat 
in  New  York,  I had  the  pleasure  of  dining  officially  with  Yice  President  Adams.  That  house  resembled  this 
exactly,  but  then  it  was  upon  a noble  hill,  some  hundred  feet  in  height,  commanding  a view  of  the  river  and  of 
the  Jersey  shore.  There  was  a fine  rich  lawn  around  it,  shaded  by  large  and  venerable  oaks  and  lindens,  and 
skirted  on  every  side  by  a young  but  thrifty  natural  wood  of  an  hundred  acres  or  more.’ 

“ Perceiving  it  to  be  a house  of  public  entertainment,  I proposed  to  Mr.  DeYiellecour  that  we  should  enter  it. 
We  went  into  a spacious  hall,  with  a small  room  on  each  side  opening  to  more  spacious  apartments  beyond.  4 Yes,’ 
said  Mr.  Yiellecour,  4 this  is  certainly  the  house  I spoke  of.’  He  immediately,  with  the  air  of  a man  accustomed 
to  the  building,  opened  a side  door  on  the  right,  and  began  to  ascend  a wide  staircase  with  a heavy  mahogany  rail- 
ing. It  conducted  us  to  a large  room  on  the  second  story,  with  wide  Yenetian  windows  in  front,  and  a door  open- 
ing to  a balcony  under  the  portico.  4 Yes,’  said  my  friend,  ‘here  was  the  dining-room.  There,  in  the  centre  of 
the  table,  sat  Yice  President  Adams,  in  full  dress,  with  his  bag  and  solitaire , his  hair  frizzed  out  each  side  of  his 
face,  as  you  see  it  in  Stuart’s  old  pictures  of  him.  On  his  right  sat  Baron  Steuben,  our  royalist  republican  disci- 
plinarian general.  On  his  left  was  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  had  just  returned  from  France,  conspicuous  in  his  red  waist- 
coat and  breeches,  the  fashion  of  Versailles.  Opposite  sat  Mrs.  Adams,  with  her  cheerful  intelligent  face.  She 
was  placed  between  the  courtly  Count  Du  Moustiers,  the  French  ambassador,  in  his  red-heeled  shoes  and  ear- 
ilDgs,  and  the  grave,  polity,  and  formally  bowing  Mr.  Yan  Berkel,  the  learned  and  able  envoy  of  Holland.  There, 


454 


APPENDIX. 


too,  was  Chancellor  Livingston,  then  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  so  deaf  as  to  make  conversation  with  him  difficult, 
yet  so  overflowing  with  wit,  eloquence  and  information,  that  while  listening  to  him  the  difficulty  was  forgotten. 
The  rest  were  members  of  Congress  and  of  our  legislature,  some  of  them  no  inconsiderable  men. 

‘“Being  able  to  talk  French,  a rare  accomplishment  in  America  at  that  time,  a place  was  assigned  to  me  next 
the  count.  The  dinner  was  served  up  after  the  fashion  of  that  day,  abundant,  and,  as  was  then  thought,  splendid. 
Du  Moustiers,  after  taking  a little  soup,  kept  an  empty  plate  before  him,  took  now  and  then  a crumb  of  bread  into 
his  mouth,  and  declined  all  the  luxuries  of  the  table  that  were  pressed  upon  him,  from  the  roast  beef  down  to  the 
lobsters.  "YVe  were  all  in  perplexity  to  know  how  the  count  could  dine,  when  at  length  his  own  body  cook,  in  a 
clean  white  linen  cap,  a clean  white  tdblier  before  him,  a brilliantly  white  damask  serviette  flung  over  his  arm,  and 
a warm  pie  of  truffles  and  game  in  his  hand,  came  bustling  eagerly  through  the  crowd  of  waiters,  and  placed  it 
before  the  count,  who,  reserving  a moderate  share  to  himself,  distributed  the  rest  among  his  neighbors,  of  whom 
being  one,  I can  attest  to  the  truth  of  the  story,  and  the  excellence  of  the  pdte.  But  come,  let  us  go,  and  look  at 
the  fine  view  from  the  balcony.’ 

“ My  friend  stepped  out  at  the  door,  and  I followed  him.  The  worthy  old  gentleman  seemed  much  disap- 
pointed at  finding  the  view  he  spoke  of  confined  to  the  opposite  side  of  Yarick  street,  built  up  with  two-story 
brick  houses,  while  half  a dozen  ragged  boys  were  playing  marbles  on  the  side  walks.  ‘ ‘Well,’  said  he,  ‘the  view 
is  gone,  that  is  clear  enough ; but  I cannot,  for  my  part,  understand  how  the  house  has  got  so  much  lower  than 
formerly.’ 

“ I explained  to  my  friend  the  omnipotence  of  the  corporation,  by  which  every  high  hill  has  been  brought 
low,  and  every  valley  exalted,  and  by  which  I presumed  this  house  had  been  abased  to  a level  with  its  humbler 
neighbors,  the  hill  on  which  it  stood  having  been  literally  dug  away  from  under  it,  and  the  house  gently  let  down 
without  even  disturbing  its  furniture,  by  the  mechanical  genius  and  dexterity  of  some  of  our  eastern  brethren. 

“ 4 This  is  wrong,’  said  the  old  gentleman ; ‘ these  New  Yorkers  seem  to  take  a pleasure  in  defacing  the  monu- 
ments of  the  good  old  times,  and  of  depriving  themselves  of  all  venerable  and  patriotic  associations.  This  house 
should  have  been  continued  in  its  old  situation,  on  its  own  original  and  proper  eminence,  where  its  very  aspect 
would  have  suggested  its  history.  It  was  built  upwards  of  seventy  years  ago,  by  a gallant  British  officer,  who  had 
done  good  service  to  his  native  country  and  to  this.  Here  Lord  Amherst  was  entertained,  and  held  his  head- 
quarters, at  the  close  of  those  successful  American  campaigns  which  by  the  way  prevented  half  the  state  of  New 
York  from  being  now  a part  of  Canada.  Here  were  afterwards  successively  the  quarters  of  several  of  our  Ameri- 
can generals  in  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  and  again  after  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  Here  John  Adams 
lived  as  Vice  President,  during  the  time  that  Congress  sat  in  New  York ; and  here  Aaron  Burr,  during  the  whole 
of  his  Vice  Presidency,  kept  up  an  elegant  hospitality,  and  filled  the  room  in  which  we  stand  with  a splendid 
library,  equally  indicative  of  his  taste  and  scholarship.  The  last  considerable  man  that  lived  here  was  Counsellor 
Benzon,  afterwards  governor  of  the  Danish  islands — a man  who,  like  you,  Mr.  Herbert,  had  travelled  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  knew  every  thing,  and  talked  all  languages.  I recollect  dining  here  in  company  with  thirteen 
gentlemen,  none  of  whom  I ever  saw  before,  but  all  pleasant  fellows,  all  men  of  education  and  of  some  note — the 
Counsellor  a Norwegian,  I the  only  American,  the  rest  of  every  different  nation  in  Europe,  and  no  two  of  the 
same,  and  all  of  us  talking  bad  French  together. 

“ ‘There  are  few  old  houses,’  continued  Mr.  De  Yiellecour,  ‘with  the  sight  of  which  my  youth  was  familiar, 
that  I find  here  now.  Two  or  three,  however,  I still  recognize.  One  of  these  is  the  house  built  by  my  friend 
Chief  Justice  Jay,  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  and  now  occupied  as  a boarding-house.  It  is,  as  you  know,  a 
large  square  three-story  house,  of  hewn  stone,  as  substantially  built  within  as  without,  durable,  spacious,  and  com- 
modious, and,  like  the  principles  of  the  builder,  always  useful  and  excellent,  whether  in  or  out  of  fashion.’ 

“ ‘ I believe  he  did  not  reside  there  long,’  said  I. 

“ * No,  he  soon  afterwards  removed  into  the  house  built  by  the  state  for  the  governors,  and  then  to  Albany,  so 
that  I saw  little  of  him  in  that  house  beyond  a mere  morning  visit  or  two.  No  remaining  object  brings  him  to  my 
mind  so  strongly  as  the  square  pew  in  Trinity  Church,  about  the  centre  of  the  north  side  of  the  north  aisle.  It  is 
now,  like  every  thing  else  in  New  York,  changed.  It  is  divided  into  several  smaller  pews,  though  still  retaining 
externally  its  original  form.  That  pew  was  the  scene  of  his  regular,  sober,  unostentatious  devotion,  and  I never 
look  at  it  without  a feeling  of  veneration.  But,  Mr.  Herbert,  can  you  tell  me  what  is  become  of  the  house  of  my 
other  old  friend,  Governor  George  Clinton,  at  Greenwich?’ 

“ ‘ It  is  still  in  existence,’  I answered,  ‘ although  in  very  great  danger  of  shortly  being  let  down,  like  the  one  in 
which  we  now  are.’ 

“ ‘ When  I was  in  the  Assembly,’  pursued  Mr.  De  Yiellecour,  ‘ the  Governor  used  to  date  his  messages  at 
Greenwich,  near  New  York.’  Now,  I suppose,  the  mansion  is  no  longer  near , but  in  New  York.’ 

“ ‘ Not  quite,’  I replied,  ‘but  doubtless  will  be,  next  year.  In  the  mean  time  the  house  looks  as  it  did.’ 

“ * I remember  it  well— a long,  low,  venerable,  irregular,  white,  cottage-like  brick  and  wood  building,  pleasant 
notwithstanding,  with  a number  of  small  low  rooms,  and  one  very  spacious  parlor,  delightfully  situated  on  a steep 
bank,  some  fifty  feet  above  the  shore,  on  which  the  waves  of  the  Hudson  and  the  tides  of  the  bay  dashed  and 
sported.  There  was  a fine  orchard  too,  and  a garden  on  the  north ; but  I suppose  that  if  not  gone,  they  are 
going,  as  they  say,  in  Pearl  street ' 

“ ‘ It  is  even  so — were  you  often  there  ? ’ 

“ ‘Not  often,  but  I had  there  too  divers  official  dinners,  and  at  one  of  them  I recollect  sitting  next  to  old  Me- 
lancthon  Smith,  a self-taught  orator,  the  eloquent  opposer  of  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution,  and  the 
Patrick  Henry  of  the  New  York  Convention  of  1788,  who  for  weeks  successfully  resisted  the  powerful  and  discur- 
sive logic  of  Hamilton,  and  the  splendid  rhetoric  of  Robert  R.  Livingston.  On  my  other  side  and  nearer  the 
Governor,  sat  Brissot  de  Warville,  then  on  a visit  to  this  country,  whose  history  as  a benevolent  philosophic  specu- 
late t,  an  ardent  though  visionary  republican,  and  one  of  the  unfortunate  leaders  of  the  Gironde  party  in  the 
French  National  Assembly,  every  body  knows.’ 


APPENDIX. 


455 


“‘But  yon  say  nothing  of  the  Governor  himself  ? ’ 

“ ‘ Oh,  surely  you  must  have  known  him  I If  you  did  not,  Trumbull’s  full  length  of  him  in  the  City  Hall 
hero,  taken  forty  years  ago,  and  Ceracchi’s  bust,  of  about  the  same  date,  will  give  you  an  excellent  idea  of  his 
appearance.’ 

“ ‘ Oh  yes — his  appearance  was  familiar  to  me,  and  I knew  him  personally  too ; but  when  I was  in  his  com- 
pany, I was  too  young  to  have  much  conversation  with  him,  and  afterwards,  when  he  was  last  governor,  and 
during  his  vice  presidency,  I was,  you  know,  out  of  the  country.' 

“ ‘ His  conversation  and  manners  in  private,  corresponded  exactly  with  his  public  character  and  his  looks.  His 
person  and  face  had  a general  resemblance  to  those  of  Washington,  but  though  always  dignified,  and  in  old  age 
venerable,  he  had  not  that  air  of  heroic  elevation  which  threw  such  majesty  around  the  father  of  the  republic. 
There  was  a similar  resemblance  in  mind.  If  he  had  not  the  calm  grandeur  of  Washington’s  intellect,  he  had  the 
same  plain,  practical,  sound,  wholesome  common  sense — the  same  unpretending  but  unerring  sagacity  as  to  men 
and  measures,  the  same  directness  of  purpose,  and  firmness  of  decision.  These  qualities  were  exerted  as  Governor 
during  our  revolution  with  such  effect  that  the  people  never  forgot  it,  and  they  witnessed  their  gratitude  by  con- 
fiding to  him  the  government  of  this  state  for  twenty-one  years,  and  the  second  office  in  the  union  for  eight  more. 
His  behavior  in  society  was  plain  but  dignified,  his  conversation  easy,  shrewd,  sensible,  and  commonly  about 
matters  of  fact— the  events  of  the  revolution,  the  politics  of  the  day,  the  useful  arts  and  agriculture.’ 

“ ‘ Is  Hamilton’s  house  still  standing  ? ’ 

“‘Not  that  in  which  he  labored  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  restore  the  ruined  credit  of  the  nation,  and 
reduce  our  finances  and  revenue  laws  to  order  and  uniformity — where  he  wrote  the  Federalist,  and  those  admirable 
reports  which  now  form  the  most  luminous  commentary  upon  our  constitution.  That  was  in  Wall  street;  it  has 
been  pulled  down,  and  its  site  is  occupied  by  the  Mechanics’  Bank.  His  last  favorite  residence  was  the  Grange, 
his  country-seat  at  Bloomingdale,  which,  when  I last  saw  it,  remained  much  as  he  left  it.’ 

“ Mr.  Viellecour  and  myself  ordered  some  refreshment,  as  a kind  of  apology  for  the  freedoms  we  had  taken 
with  the  old  mansion.  On  leaving  it  we  walked  down  Greenwich  street,  moralizing  as  we  went  on  the  changes 
which  time  was  working  so  much  more  visibly  in  this  little  corner  of  the  world  than  in  any  other  part  of  it  which 
I had  seen — where  the  flight  of  years  seemed  swifter  than  elsewhere,  and  to  bring  with  it  more  striking  moral 
lessons.  After  an  absence  of  thirty  years  from  the  great  cities  of  Europe,  I beheld,  when  I revisited  them,  the 
same  aspect,  venerable  still,  yet  neither  newer  nor  older  than  before,  the  same  order  of  streets,  the  same  public 
buildings,  the  same  offices,  hotels  and  shops,  the  same  names  on  the  signs,  and  found  my  way  through  their  in- 
tricacies as  if  I had  left  them  but  yesterday.  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  when  I returned  after  an  absence  of  two 
years,  every  thing  was  strange,  new  and  perplexing,  and  I lost  my  way  in  streets  which  had  been  laid  out  since  I 
left  the  city. 

“My  companion  often  stopped  to  look  at  houses  and  sites  of  which  he  had  some  remembrance.  ‘There,’  said 
he,  pointing  to  a modest-looking  two  story  dwelling  in  one  of  the  cross-streets — ‘ there  died  my  good  friend  Mons. 
Albert,  a minister  of  our  French  Protestant  Church  about  twenty  years  ago,  a very  learned  and  eloquent  divine, 
and  the  most  modest  man  I ever  knew.  He  was  a native  of  Lausanne,  a nephew  of  Deyverdun,  the  friend  of 
Gibbon,  who  figures  in  the  correspondence  and  memoirs  of  the  historian.  Mons.  Albert  was  much  in  the  society 
of  Gibbon,  and  has  related  to  me  many  anecdotes  of  his  literary  habits  and  conversation. 

“ ‘ I must  not  suffer  you  to  monopolize  all  the  recollections  of  the  city,’  said  I to  my  friend,  ‘ Observe,  if  you 
please,  that  house  on  the  corner  opposite  the  one  to  which  you  have  directed  my  attention.  There  lived  for  a time 
my  old  acquaintance  Colies,  a mathematician,  a geographer,  and  a mechanician  of  no  mean  note.  He  was  a kind  of 
living  antithesis,  and  I have  often  thought  that  nature  made  him  expressly  to  illustrate  that  figure  of  rhetoric. 
He  was  a man  of  the  most  diminutive  frame  and  the  most  gigantic  conceptions,  the  humblest  demeanor  and  the 
boldest  projects,  I ever  knew.  Forty  years  ago  his  mind  was  teeming  with  plans  of  western  canals,  steamboats, 
railroads,  and  other  public  enterprises,  which  in  more  fortunate  and  judicious  hands  have  since  proved  fruitful  of 
wealth  to  the  community,  and  of  merited  honor  to  those  who  carried  them  through.  Poor  Colles  had  neither 
capital  to  undertake  them  himself,  plausibility  to  recommend  them  to  others,  nor  public  character  and  station  to 
give  weight  and  authority  to  his  opinions.  So  he  schemed  and  toiled  and  calculated  all  his  life,  and  died  at  eighty, 
without  having  gained  either  wealth  for  himself,  or  gratitude  from  the  public.  The  marine  telegraphs  in  this  port 
are  a monument  of  his  ingenuity,  for  he  was  the  first  man  of  the  country  who  established  a regular  and  intelligible 
system  of  ship  signals.’ 

“ My  friend  stopped  at  some  of  the  shops  to  make  inquiries  concerning  the  ancient  inmates.  At  length  I heard 
him  asking  for  Adonis.  ‘ Pray,’  said  I,  ‘ who  is  this  modern  Adonis  for  whom  you  are  inquiring  ? some  “ smooth 
rose-cheeked  boy  ” doubtless,  like  him  of  Mount  Libanus.’  ‘This  Adonis,’  replied  Mr.  Yiellecour, ‘is  neither  a 
“ smooth  nor  rose-cheeked  boy,”  being  in  fact  a black  old  man,  or  rather  gentleman,  for  a gentleman  he  is  every  inch 
of  him,  although  a barber.  I say  is,  for  I hope  he  is  still  alive  and  well,  although  I have  not  seen  him  for  some 
years.  In  this  sneaking,  fashion-conforming,  selfish  world,  I hold  in  high  honor  any  man  who,  for  the  sake  of  any 
principle,  important  or  trifling,  right  or  wrong,  so  it  be  without  personal  interest,  will  for  years  submit  to  inconven- 
ience or  ridicule’  Adonis  submitted  to  both,  and  for  principle's  sake.’ 

“ ‘ Principle's  sake  I — upon  what  head  ? ’ 

“•  Upon  his  own,  sir,  or  upon  Louis  the  Sixteenth's,  just  as  you  please.  Adonis  was  an  old  French  negro, 
whom  the  convulsions,  attendant  in  the  West  Indies  upon  the  French  revolution,  threw  upon  our  shores,  and  who 
held  in  the  utmost  horror  all  jacobinical  and  republican  abominations.  He  had  an  instinctive  sagacity  as  to  what 
was  genteel  and  becoming  in  manners  and  behavior,  as  well  as  in  the  cut  of  a gentleman’s  hair,  or  the  curl  of  a 
lady’s.  He  had  attended  to  the  progress  of  the  French  revolution  with  the  greatest  interest,  and  his  feelings  were 
excited  to  the  highest  pitch  when  he  heard  of  the  beheading  of  the  French  king,  and  the  banishment  of  the  royal 
family.  He  then  deliberately  renounced  the  French  nation  and  their  canaille , parvenu  rulers,  and  in  testimony 
of  the  sincerity  of  his  indignation  and  grief,  took  off  his  hat  and  vowed  never  to  put  it  on  again  until  the  Bourbons 


456 


APPENDIX. 


should  be  restored  to  the  throne.  This  vow  he  faithfully  kept.  For  twenty-one  years,  through  all  weathers,  did 
he  walk  the  streets  of  New  York,  bare-headed,  carrying  his  hat  under  his  arm,  with  the  air  of  a courtier,  filled  with 
combs,  scissors,  and  other  implements  of  his  trade,  until  his  hair,  which  was  of  the  deepest  black  when  he  first  took 
it  off,  had  become  as  white  as  6now.  For  my  part,  I confess  I never  saw  him  on  my  occasional  visits  to  the  city, 
walking  to  the  houses  of  his  customers  without  his  hat,  but  I felt  inclined  to  take  off  my  own  to  him.  Like  all  the 
rest  of  the  world,  I took  it  for  granted  that  the  loyal  old  negro  would  never  wear  his  hat  again.  At  length,  in  the 

year  1814,  the  French  armed  schooner , with  the  white  flag  flying,  arrived  in  the  port  of  New  York,  bringing  the 

first  intelligence  of  the  return  of  the  Bourbons  to  their  throne  and  kingdom.  Adonis  would  not  believe  the  report 
that  flew  like  wild-fire  about  the  city ; he  would  not  trust  the  translations  from  the  French  gazettes  that  were  read 
to  him  in  the  American  papers  by  his  customers,  but  walked  down  to  the  battery,  with  the  same  old  hat  under  his 
arm  which  he  had  carried  there  for  twenty  years,  saw  the  white  flag  with  his  own  eyes,  heard  the  news  in  French 
from  the  mouth  of  the  cook  on  board  the  vessel,  and  then  waving  his  hat  three  times  in  the  air,  gave  three  huzzas, 
and  replaced  it  on  his  head,  with  as  much  heart-felt  pride  as  Louis  the  18th  could  have  done  his  crown.’ 

“I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  earnest  gravity  of  the  old  gentleman's  eulogy  upon  Adonis.  ‘I  fear,’  said  I, 
‘ that  your  chivalric  coiffeur  owes  a little  of  his  sentimental  loyalty  to  your  own  admiration  of  every  thing  generous 
and  disinterested.  When  you  are  excited  on  this  head,  sir,  you  often  remit;''  me  of  what  old  Fuseli,  in  his  energetic 
style,  used  to  say  of  his  great  idol,  Michael  Angelo — “All  that  he  touched  w;s  indiscriminately  stamped  with  his 
own  grandeur.  A beggar  rose  from  his  hands  the  Patriarch  of  poverty ; the  very  hump  of  his  dwarf  is  impressed 
with  dignity.”  1 suspect  you  have  been  unconsciously  playing  the  Michael  Angelo  in  lighting  up  such  a halo  of 
consecrated  glory  round  the  bare  and  time-honored  head  of  old  Adonis.’  ” 

“We  had  now  got  far  down  into  the  old  part  of  the  city,  when,  turning  up  Yesey  street  from  Greenwich,  Mr. 
De  Viellecour  made  a sudden  pause.  ‘Ah,’  said  he,  ‘ one  more  vestige  of  the  past.  There,’  pointing  to  a common- 
looking old  house,  ‘ there,  in  1790,  was  the  atelier  of  Ceracchi,  when  he  was  executing  his  fine  busts  of  our  great 
American  statesmen.’ 

“ ‘ Indeed  1 ’ answered  I — 1 1 have  often  thought  of  it  as  a singular  piece  of  natural  good  fortune,  that  at  a time 
when  our  native  arts  were  at  so  low  an  ebb,  we  had  such  an  artist  thrown  upon  our  shores  to  perpetuate  the  true 
and  living  likenesses  of  our  revolutionary  chiefs  and  sages.  Ceracchi’s  busts  of  Washington,  Jay,  Alexander, 
Hamilton,  George  Clinton,  and  others,  are  now  as  mere  portraits  above  all  price  to  this  nation ; and  they  have 
besides  a classic  grace  about  them,  which  entitles  the  artist  to  no  contemptible  rank  as  a statuary.’ 

“ ‘ It  was  not  a piece  of  mere  good  fortune,’ said  my  friend.  ‘We  have  to  thank  the  artist  himself  for  it. 
Ceracchi  was  a zealous  republican,  and  he  came  here  full  of  enthusiasm,  anxious  to  identify  his  own  name  in  tho 
arts  somehow  or  other  with  our  infant  republic— and  he  has  done  it.  He  had  a grand  design  of  a national  monu- 
ment, which  he  used  to  show  to  his  visitors,  and  which  he  wished  Congress  to  employ  him  to  execute  in  marble  or 
bronze.  Of  course  they  did  not  do  so,  and,  as  it  happened,  he  was  much  more  usefully  employed  for  the  nation  in 
modelling  the  busts  of  our  great  men.’ 

“ ‘ He  was  an  Italian,  I believe  a Homan,  and  had  lived  some  time  in  England,  where  he  was  patronized  by 
Reynolds.  Sir  Joshua  (no  mean  proof  of  his  talent)  sat  to  him  for  a bust,  and  a fine  one  I am  told  it  is.  Ceracchi 
came  to  America  enthusiastic  for  liberty,  and  he  found  nothing  here  to  make  him  change  his  principles  or  feelings. 
But  the  nation  was  not  ripe  for  statuary — a dozen  busts  exhausted  the  patronage  of  the  country,  and  Congress  was 
too  busy  with  pounds,  shillings  and  pence,  fixing  the  revenue  laws,  and  funding  the  debt,  to  think  of  his  grand 
allegorical  monument.  Ceracchi  could  not  live  upon  liberty  alone,  much  as  ho  loved  it,  and  when  the  French 
revolution  took  a very  decided  character,  he  went  to  France,  and  plunged  into  politics.  Some  years  after  he  re- 
turned to  Rome,  where  he  was  unfortunately  killed  in  an  insurrection  or  popular  tumult,  growing  out  of  the  uni- 
versal revolutionary  spirit  of  those  times.’ 

“ ‘ May  his  remains  rest  in  peace,’  added  I.  ‘ Whatever  higher  works  of  art  he  may  have  left  elsewhere— and 
he  who  could  produce  those  fine  classic,  historical  busts,  was  undoubtedly  capable  of  greater  things— whatever 
else  he  may  have  left  in  Europe,  here  his  will  be  an  enduring  name.  As  long  as  Americans  shall  hold  in  honored 
remembrance  the  memory  of  their  first  and  best  patriots — as  long  as  our  sons  shall  look  with  reverent  interest  on 
their  sculptured  images,  the  name  of  Ceracchi  will  be  cherished  here : 

“ ‘ And  while  along  the  stream  of  time,  their  name 
Expanded  dies  and  gathers  all  its  fame  ; 

Still  shall  his  little  barque  attendant  sail, 

Pursue  the  triumph  and  partake  the  gale.’  ” 


INDEX 


» * 


A. 


tion  on  Franklin,  before,  223. 

Adams , Charles , son  of  John,  attends  his  mother,  at  Mrs. 
Washington’s  first  leyee  in  Philadelphia,  326.  Mar- 
ries Sally,  sister  of  Colonel  William  S.  Smith,  80. 

Adams,  John,  at  Paris,  in  1784, 294.  At  London,  in  1785, 
78.  Delegate  (17S8)  to  Congress,  96.  Vice  President, 
1789,  122.  His  reception  at  Boston,  Hartford,  New 
Haven,  and  New  York,  123.  Takes  part  in  the  cere- 
monies of  Washington’s  inauguration,  140.  With 
Washington  at  Boston,  189.  Dines  with  Washington, 
164, 191.  At  a hall  with  him,  at  New  York,  154 ; and 
at  Boston,  192.  His  tributes  to  Washington,  135,  419. 
Present  at  the  commencement  of  Columbia  College; 
in  1789,  158.  Dines  with  the  French  Charge,  1790, 
217.  Dines  with  Aaron  Burr,  395.  Describes  a din- 
ner-party at  Gouverneur  Morris’s,  395.  His  interest 
in  the  case  of  George  W.  Lafayette,  390.  His  notice 
of  M.  Fauchet  and  M.  Adet,  384,  385.  His  account  of 
Erick  Bollman,  389.  His  defence  of  the  American 
Constitution,  lightly  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Giles,  396, 
note.  Extract  from  a letter  of  his  to  his  daugh- 

ter, on  the  Moravian  School  at  Bethlehem,  Penn.,  8, 
note.  His  daughter  marries  Col.  William  S.  Smith, 

91.  Falsely  charged  with  having  predilections 

for  kiDgly  and  aristocratic  institutions,  221.  Favors 
oflicial  titles,  154.  His  character  vilified  in  Freneau’s 
National  Gazette,  341.  His  graphic  account  of  Ames’s 
speech  on  Jay’s  treaty,  863.  His  place  of  resi- 

dence at  New  York,  166,  note.  His  account  of  Dr. 
Perkins  and  his  tractors,  403.  Is  a guest  at  Washing- 
ton's farewell  dinner,  418.  His  inauguration  as  Pres- 
ident, 419.  Washington  makes  him  a visit,  imme- 
diately after  his  inauguration,  420.  Notice  of,  by  his 
daughter,  96. 

Adams,  Mrs.  John,  at  Braintree,  Paris,  London,  and  New 
York,  170.  Her  only  daughter,  170.  Her  son,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  171.  Anecdote  of  her  and  Judge  Pe- 
ters at  London,  265.  Attended  by  her  son  Charles, 
at  Mrs.  Washington's  first  levee  in  Philadelphia,  326. 
At  St.  Paul’s,  New  York,  July  4,  1789,  178.  Her  ac- 
count of  the  gayety  at  Philadelphia,  in  1791,  and  of 
social  life  there,  827.  Her  favorable  opinion  of  the 

58 


beauty  of  American  women,  295.  Her  opinion  of 
Miss  Martha  Jefferson,  218,  note  ; and  of  Josiah  Quin- 
cy, 400.  Extracts  from  her  letters  to  Mrs.  Shaw  and 
Thos.  Brand  Hollis,  168,  169.  Glowing  description  of 
her  place  of  residence  at  New  York,  168,  169.  Her 
removal  to  Philadelphia,  249.  Her  household  cares 
there,  250.  Her  account  of  the  old  Philadelphia  thea- 
tre, 371.  Visited  by  Mrs.  Bingham,  250.  Notice  of, 
169, 17a 

Adams,  Miss,  only  daughter  of  John,  at  Paris,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1784,  294.  Her  account  of  the  manners  and  dress 
of  Mrs.  Bingham  of  Philadelphia,  295.  See  Smith, 
Mrs.  Col.  W.  S. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  son  of  John,  secretary  to  Mr.  Dana, 
the  American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  78.  Notice 
of  his  visit  to  the  family  of  Colonel  Smith,  80 ; and 
of  other  visits,  80,  81,  82.  His  remark  on  the  beauty 
of  American  women  in  1785,  295.  Verses  by,  written 
in  the  scrap-book  of  a grand-daughter  of  his  sister, 
171,  note.  Notice  of,  78,  79. 

Adams,  Samuel,  and  Mrs.  Adams  at  the  brilliant  assem- 
bly at  Boston,  in  1789,  192. 

Adet,  Pierre  Auguste,  minister  from  France  to  the  United 
States,  arrives  at  Philadelphia  in  1795,  3S5.  Super- 
sedes M.  Fauchet,  360,  384,  385.  Oliver  Wolcott’s  ac- 
count of,  3S5.  Notice  of  him  and  Madame  A.,  385. 

Afflick,  Captain,  visits  Miss  Franks,  24,  25. 

Aguesseau,  M.  de,  grandfather  of  the  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux,  160. 

Aitkin,  Eobert,  printer  at  Philadelphia,  visited  by  Dr. 
Belknap,  the  historian,  115, 117. 

Aix  la  Chapelle,  mention  of  the  peace  of,  204. 

Albany,  New  York,  visited  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr. 
Madison,  340.  Stage-coaches  from,  to  New  York  city, 
twice  a week,  117,  note. 

Albany  Pier.  See  New  York  city. 

Alexandria,  Virginia,  Washington  tarries  there  on  his 
way  to  New  York,  125.  The  Mayor  of,  his  address  to 
Washington,  125,  126.  Mr.  Jefferson  there,  on  his 
way  to  New  York,  219.  Washington’s  birth-day 
(1790)  celebrated  there,  and  at  most  of  the  large  towns 
in  the  United  States,  217. 

Alfieri,  the  Italian  poet,  addresses  to  Washington  his  tra- 
gedy of  The  First  Brutus,  430. 

Allen  family,  of  Philadelphia,  prominent  there,  12,  13, 23. 
25,  294,  826,  358. 


458 


INDEX. 


Allen , Andrew,  of  Philadelphia,  his  daughter  marries 
Mr.  George  Hammond,  the  British  Minister,  858,  880. 

, Misses,  of  Philadelphia,  three  beautiful  sisters,  326. 

, Mr.  and  Mrs.,  of  New  York,  in  the  first  circle  of 

society,  98,  note. 

, the  Boston  poet,  405. 

Alliance,  between  France  and  the  United  States,  217. 

Alsop,  John,  of  New  York,  a retired  merchant,  in  the  so- 
cial circle  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98,  note.  Member  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  30,  note,  99.  His  daughter  Mary 
marries  (1786)  Eufus  King,  30,  note,  99 ; letter  of  John 
Adams  on  the  occasion,  100.  His  fonjily  residence, 
30,  note. 

, Richard,  one  of  the  “ Connecticut  wits,”  206. 

America.  See  United  States. 

American  Philosophical  Society,  appoint  Dr.  Smith  to 
pronounce  a discourse  on  the  character  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, 222. 

Ames,  Fisher,  a member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, in  the  first  Congress  under  the  new  Constitu- 
tion, 119.  Member  of  the  joint  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, at  "Washington’s  inauguration,  139.  Writes  a 
humorous  letter  to  Jeremiah  Smith,  362.  A friend 
and  guest  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  399.  Account  of  his 
great  speech  on  Jay's  treaty,  862, 363.  John  Adams’s 
graphic  account  of  it,  363.  His  place  of  residence  in 
Great  Dock  street,  New  York,  166,  note. 

Amesbury,  Massachusetts,  Washington’s  reception  at, 
195. 

Anderson,  Mr.,  his  house  in  Pearl  street,  New  York,  in 
1789, 166,  note. 

Andre,  Major,  sentimental  verses  and  romances  on,  ex- 
travagant, 19.  Author  of  an  interesting  account  of 
the  most  celebrated  fete  ever  given  in  Philadelphia, 
19. 

Andrews,  Rev.  Dr.,  one  of  the  most  eminent  clergymen 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1791,  266. 

Andreani,  Count,  visits  the  United  States,  378. 

Anguie,  the  beautiful  Madame,  sister  of  M.  Genet,  351, 
note. 

Annapolis,  Maryland,  Washington’s  reception  at,  4,  330. 
Ball  at  the  State  House,  4.  Extract  from  Washing- 
ton's reply  to  a speech  of  the  Mayor  of,  4. 

Antoinette,  Marie,  mention  of  a plaintive  air  composed 
on  the  execution  of,  393. 

Apthorp,  Miss,  marries  Dr.  Hugh  Williamson  of  North 
Carolina,  102, 103. 

Ardent  Spirits,  tax  on,  329. 

Arms,  Coat  of,  of  Joseph  Willing,  14,  note  J. 

Armstrong,  General,  in  the  social  circle  of  Mrs.  Jay,  at 
New  York,  98,  note.  His  account  of  some  leading 
characters  in  society,  101.  His  remarks  on  marriage, 
101.  His  description  of  the  Count  de  Moustier  and 
his  sister,  93.  Extract  from  his  letter  to  General 
Gates,  on  the  election  of  Washington  to  the  Presi- 
dency, 122,  note. 

Army,  British.  See  British  Army. 

, Revolutionary,  of  America,  disbanded  (Nov.  2, 

1783),  1.  Officers  of,  Washington’s  farewell  to,  2. 
Soldiers  of,  Washington’s  farewell  to,  1. 

Arnold , Mrs.,  mention  of  a letter  from,  to  Miss  Franks, 
26. 

Ashburton,  Lord,  great  grandson  of  Thomas  Willing,  of 
Philadelphia,  14,  note  *.  Marries  Anne,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  William  Bingham  of  Philadelphia,  380,  418, 
note. 

Asheton  family,  of  Philadelphia,  among  the  first,  12. 

Ashley  Ferry,  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  Washington 
there  on  his  way  to  Savannah,  326. 

Assembly  Boom  at  New  York,  on  the  East  side  of  Broad- 
way, above  Wall  street,  155.  See  Balls. 

Atheism.  See  French  Revolution. 


Atlee,  Judge,  takes  part  in  .the  celebration,  at  Philadol 
phia,  of  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution,  106. 

Attorneys  in  New  York  City,  list  of,  in  1789, 175. 

Assemblies,  City  Dancing,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1748 ; sub- 
scribers to,  13,  note.  Belles  and  Dames  attending,  in 
1757,  13,  note. 

Augusta,  Georgia,  reception  of  Washington  at,  338. 

Aurora,  The,  Bache’s  democratic  journal,  357.  Its  low 
abuse  of  the  President,  357,  413,  416. 

Autun,  Talleyrand  bishop  of.  See  Talleyrand. 

B. 

Bache , Benjamin  Franklin,  editor  of  the  violent  demo- 
mocratic  journal,  the  Aurora,  357,  413,  416. 

, Miss,  grand-daughter  of  Dr.  Franklin,  marries 

Harwood,  the  player,  372. 

Bailey , Dr.,  a popular  physician  in  New  York,  177. 

, General,  his  residence  in  Yew  York,  30,  note. 

Baillie,  Mr.,  with  Washington  at  Perrysburg,  336. 

Baird,  Patrick,  subscriber  to  the  dancing  assembly  in 
Philadelphia,  in  1748, 13. 

Baldwin,  Abraham,  delegate  from  Georgia  to  the  Con- 
vention, 74  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York, 
167,  note.  Character  of,  74. 

Balloon  ascension.  See  Blanchard. 

Balls.  At  Annapolis,  in  the  State  House  (Dec.,  1783), 
opened  by  Washington  and  Mrs.  Macubbin,  4,  note. 
At  New  York  (May  7,  1789),  in  the  Assembly  Room, 
154-156.  Two  sets  of  cotillions  (at  the  Count  de 
Moustier’s),  in  military  costume,  15S.  At  Salem, 
194;  at  Portsmouth,  197;  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  831; 
Charleston,  334;  Augusta,  338;  Columbia,  338 ; Phi- 
ladelphia (on  Washington's  retirement  from  publio 
life),  415. 

Baltimore,  Maryland,  receptions  of  Washington  at,  126, 
161.  Celebration  at,  of  the  ratification  of  the  Consti- 
tution, 105.  Mr.  Jefferson  rests  a day  at,  319. 

Bank,  National,  the  financial  schemes  of  Hamilton  result 
in  the  establishment  of,  273,  329. 

, of  New  York,  notice  of,  33,  note.  Its  first  presi- 
dent, 33,  note. 

Barbary  States,  mission  to,  offered  by  Jefferson  to  Col. 
Trumbull,  396. 

Barclay,  Mr.,  in  the  Invitation  List  of  Mrs.  Jay,  at  New 
York,  98,  note. 

Bard,  Mrs.  Peter,  one  of  the  “ belles  and  dames”  of  the 
Philadelphia  City  Assemblies,  in  1757, 13. 

, Dr.  Samuel,  a popular  physician  at  New  York,  in 

1789,  177.  A member  of  the  New  York  “Social 
Club,”  14S,  note.  Washington's  attending  physician 
in  a case  of  anthrax,  178.  His  account  of  Washing- 
ton's composure  at  the  thought  of  death,  179. 

Barere,  the  French  revolutionist,  352. 

Baring,  Alexander.  See  Ashburton. 

, Henry,  marries  the  widow  of  Comte  de  Milly  (Ma- 
ria Bingham),  418,  note. 

Barlow,  Joel,  author  of  the  “ Yision  of  Columbus,”  a 
class-mate  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  205,  206.  His  “Yision” 
quoted,  404. 

Barney,  Captain,  presents  a miniature  ship  to  Washing- 
ton, 105. 

Bart,  Jean,  the  French  packet  from  which  M.  Fauchet’s 
famous  letters  were  thrown  overboard,  858. 

Bassett,  Richard,  of  Delaware,  a member  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  his  residence  at  New  York,  in 
-1789,  166,  note. 

Bath,  England,  the  Abbey  Church  at,  contains  a monu- 
ment to  Wm.  Bingham,  41S,  note. 

Battery.  See  New  York  City. 

Battle  Abbey  Boll,  a sort  of,  formed  by  the  early  provin 
cial  aristocracy  of  Philadelphia,  11. 


INDEX. 


459 


Bauman , Colonel  Sebastian,  a Bevolutionary  officer,  his 
artillery,  133,  note , 117.  His  fireworks,  111,  145.  His 
review  and  sham-fight  for  Washington’s  entertain- 
ment, 211.  His  family  residence  at  New  York,  30, 
note. 

Bayard , Mr.,  of  New  York,  his  city  residence  in  17S3,  31, 
note.  His  country  residence,  81.  Had  been  a Tory, 
81.  His  family  in  the  social  circle  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98, 
note.  His  family  visited  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  81. 

Bayard,  The  Misses,  pay  their  respects  (May,  ’89)  to  Mrs. 
Washington,  164.  Present  at  the  Inauguration  Ball 
at  New  York  (May  7, ’89),  156. 

, Major,  one  of  the  Committee  who  waited  on  Mrs. 

Washington  at  Philadelphia,  in  1775,  163,  note. 

Bayard's  Farm,  New  York,  111. 

Beach , Eev.  Mr.,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  fourteen 
clergymen  there  in  1789, 138,  note. 

Beaujolais , Count  de,  brother  of  Louis  Philippe,  joins 
him  in  America,  8S6.  His  travels  in  this  country, 
387. 

Beaujour,  Chevalier  Felix  de,  his  description  of  Phila- 
delphia, 11.  His.views  of  American  society,  438,  439. 

Beaumet,  M.  de,  visits  America  with  Talleyrand,  3S0.  Is 
introduced  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Breck,  by  Mrs.  Church, 
8S0.  Attempts  to  take  the  life  of  Talleyrand,  3S2, 333, 
3S4. 

BecJcley,  John,  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  in  17S9,  167, 
note. 

Beckwith,  Major,  in  the  social  circle  of  Mrs.  Jay,  at  New 
York,  98,  note. 

Bedford,  New  York,  John  Jay’s  estate  at,  317,  note. 

Beekman  family,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  in  New 
York,  1789,  203.  The  family  residence,  30,  note.  Mrs. 
Beekman  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156.  She  pays 
her  respects  to  Mrs.  Washington,  in  1789, 164. 

Belknap,  Eev.  Dr.  Jeremy,  author  of  the  History  of  New 
Hampshire,  115.  Account  of  his  travelling  adven- 
tures, 115-117.  Extracts  from  his  letters  to  his  wife, 
115-1 17.  Pays  his  respe  cts  to  W ashington,  at  Boston, 
190. 

Bend,  Grove,  his  fashionable  haberdashery  at  New  York, 
30,  note. 

Benezet  family,  among  the  elder  provincial  aristocracy  of 
Philadelphia,  11. 

Bennington,  Vt.,  visited  by  Jefferson  and  Madison,  340. 

Benson,  Egbert,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  attorneys  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1789,  175.  Member  of  the  New 
York  “Social  Club,”  148,  note.  One  of  the  Joint 
Committee  of  Arrangements,  at  the  Inauguration  of 
Washington,  139.  In  the  social  circle  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98, 
note,  dis  place  of  residence  in  1789,  166,  note. 

Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  Moravian  school  for  young 
ladies  at,  7.  John  Adams’  account  of  the  school,  8, 
note. 

Biddle  family,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  distinction,  12. 

, Charles,  unites  with  the  democrats  in  their  address 

to  Genet,  350. 

Biddulph,  Mr.,  pays  his  respects  to  Miss  Franks,  25. 

Bingham,  William,  the  elder,  subscribes  for  the  Phila- 
delphia dancing  assemblies,  in  1748, 13,  note. 

' , William,  the  younger,  his  sumptuous  dinners  and 

delightful  parties,  327,  328.  United  States  Senator, 
291.  Dines  (1789)  at  Dr.  Shippen’s,  153.  Takes  part 
in  the  reception  (1789)  of  Mrs.  Washington  at  Phila- 
delphia, 161.  One  of  the  pall-bearers  at  the  funeral 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  121.  His  celebrated  family  mansion 
at  Philadelphia,  297.  His  mansion  assailed  by  a mob, 
364.  Gives  the  Viscount  dc  Noailles  the  free  use  of 
rooms,  379.  Louis  Philippe  intimate  with  him,  386 ; 
and  proposes  marriage  to  one  of  his  daughters,  386. 
Sends  a portrait  of  Washington  to  Lord  Lansdowne, 


411,  412.  Is  a guest  at  Washington’s  farewell  dinner, 
418.  His  death  and  monument,  418,  note. 

Bingham,  Mrs.  Anne, wife  ofWm,  the  centre  of  fashiona- 
ble society  at  Philadelphia,  203.  Her  beauty  and  char- 
acter described,  by  Mrs.  John  Adams,  250,  296 ; by 
John  Q.  Adams,  by  Miss  Adams,  296;  and  by 
Mr.  Wood,  374,  note.  Is  at  Mrs.  Washington's  first 
levee  in  Philadelphia,  326:  Her  difference  with 

Wignell,  manager  of  the  theatre,  874,  and  note.  Her 
dress,  295.  Her  family  connection,  299.  Washington 
presents  to  her  one  of  the  portraits  of  himself  by 
Madame  de  Brehan,  40!h>Her  illness  and  death,  418, 
note.  Biographical  notice  of,  409,  413. 

, Anne,  daughter  of  Wm.,  marries  Alexander 

Baring,  890,  418,  note. 

, Mario,  daughter  of  Wm.,  marries  three  times, 

418,  note.  The  names  of  her  husbands,  418,  note. 

Binney , Horace,  of  Philadelphia,  brother  of  Mrs.  Susan 
W allace,  366.  Author  of  the  inscription  on  the  monu- 
ment to  Thomas  Willing,  16,  note*. 

, Mrs.  Mary,  mother  of  Mrs.  Susan  Wallace  of 

Philadelphia,  365.  Often  visits  Mrs.  Washington, 
810,  366. 

, Dr.,  his  place  of  residence  in  Philadelphia,  391. 

Black  Sam.  See  Fraunces,  Samuel. 

Blackburn , the  artist,  his  portraits  commended,  407. 

Blackwell,  Eev.  Dr.  Eobert,  of  Philadelphia,  299.  His 
wife,  sister-in-law  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  299. 

Bladensburg,  Maryland,  mentioned,  402, 403,  note. 

Blagrove,  Eev.  Benjamin,  of  Virginia,  his  public  concert 
at  Trinity  Church,  Now  York,  226. 

Blair,  John,  is  appointed,  by  Washington,  as  one  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Supremo  Court  of  the  U.  S.,  181.  Ac- 
companies Washington  to  Newport,  227. 

, Miss,  Marries  Nicholas  Brevoort,  104. 

Blaisel,  Marquis  de,  marries  the  widow  of  Comte  de  Tilly 
(Maria  Bingham),  418. 

, Marquise  de,  a member  of  the  Willing  family  of 

Philadelphia,  14,  and  note  t. 

Blanchard,  H.,  aeronaut,  makes  (1793)  the  first  balloon 
ascension  in  the  U.  S.,  in  presence  of  Washington, 
377.  French  verses  on  the  occasion,  377. 

Bland , Theodoric,  of  Virginia,  member  of  Congress,  166, 
note.  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  in  17S9, 
166,  note.  Uncle  of  John  Eandolph,  208. 

Bleecker,  Mrs.,  of  Tomhannik,  a poetess,  405. 

Blount,  Mr.,  in  the  Invitation-list  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98,  note. 

Boismont,  M.  Brierre  de,  his  account  of  Talleyrand's  dan- 
ger of  losing  his  life,  882. 

Bollman , Dr.  Erick,  account  of,  by  John  Adams,  889;  and 
by  Hamilton,  3S9. 

Bond,  family  of,  at  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent, 12, 13,  note.  Eepresented  now  in  female  lines, 
13,  note. 

, Phineas,  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  list  of  subscribers 

to  the  City  Assembly  balls,  in  1748, 13,  note.  Mrs. 
Bond,  attended  the  assemblies,  in  1757.  His  house 
assailed  by  a mob,  at  the  time  of  Jay’s  treaty,  364. 

, Mrs.  Thomas,  of  Philadelphia,  attended  the  assem- 
blies in  1757,  13,  note. 

Bonnet  rouge,  used  at  a democratic  dinner  at  Philadel- 
phia, in  honor  of  Genet,  350. 

Boston,  Massachusetts,  rapid  increase  of  the  population 
of,  7.  Boston,  Albany,  and  Philadelphia  General 
Stage  Office,  kept  by  Samuel  Fraunces,  in  Cortlandt 
street,  New  York,  117,  note.  Mails  from  New  York 
to,  three  times  a week  in  summer,  and  twice  a week 
in  winter,  ib.  John  Adams  escorted  to,  in  1789,123. 
Order  of  procession  at  Washington’s  reception  there, 
188.  Address  of  the  Governor  and  Council  to  him, 
and  his  reply,  191.  His  birthday  celebrated  (1790)  at, 
217. Social  refinement  of,  7 — 10,  297.  The  Mar- 


460 


INDEX. 


quis  de  Chastellux’s  remarks  on  social  life  there,  8. 
His  remarks  on  the  awkward  dancers  there,  8.  Wo- 
men of,  compared  by  him  with  those  of  Philadel- 
phia, 8.  State  of  female  education  there,  in  1787, 297. 
Miss  Temple,  long  a reigning  belle  of,  10.  Brissot’s 
remarks  on  the  state  of  society  there,  10.  The  peo- 
ple of,  too  philosophical  in  their  religion,  10.  Costume 
of  the  people  of,  382.  The  sash  worn  by  the  ladies 
of,  at  the  time  of  Washington’s  visit  there,  192. 

Boston,  Mercury,  a journal,  announces  Mrs.  Morton's 
poem  of  “ Beacon  Hill,”  406. 

Boudinot,  Elias,  of  New  Jersey,  the  family  ancestors  of, 
among  the  principal  families  of  Philadelphia,  12. 
Brother  of  Mrs.  Stockton,  405.  Member  of  Congress, 
119, 166,  note.  His  place  of  residence  (1789)  at  New 
York,  160,  note.  His  glowing  description  of  Wash- 
ington’s passage  from  Elizabethtown,  130—134.  nis 
only  daughter,  394,  and  note.  His  description  of  the 
Count  do  Moustier’s  ball  (May,  17S9),  158. 

Boundary  line  between  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  360. 

Bourne , Sylvanus,  conveys  to  John  Adams  information 
of  his  being  chosen  Vice  President,  122. 

Bowdoin,  James,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  his  family, 
ancient  and  distinguished,  8.  The  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux  takes  tea  with  the  familly,  8,  9 ; and  greatly 
admires  the  beautiful  granddaughter  of,  9.  Miss  Tem- 
ple brought  up  in  the  family  of,  10,  note.  Is  with 
Washington  at  the  State  House  in  Boston,  189. 
Washington  dines  at  the  house  of,  192. 

Bowen,  Mr.,  his  exhibition  of  wax-work  visited  by  Wash- 
ington and  his  family,  211. 

Bowling  Green , New  York  City,  display  of  fireworks  at, 
on  occasion  of  the  evacuation  of  the  city  by  the  Brit- 
ish troops,  2. 

Boyle , Daniel,  in  the  list  of  subscribers  for  the  Philadel- 
phia city  dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13,  note. 

Boylston , Nicholas,  a full  length  portrait  of,  in  the  Philo- 
sophy Boom,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  193,  note. 

Bradford  family,  of  Philadelphia,  the  standing  of,  12. 

, William,  Attorney  General  of  the  U.  8.  (1795), 

356.  Unites  with  Timothy  Pickering  and  Oliver 
Wolcott,  in  a letter  to  Washington,  859.  His  intimacy 
with  Washington’s  family,  391.  Uncle  of  John  Brad- 
ford Wallace,  366,  note.  His  poem,  the  “lament  of 
Washington,”  391,  392.  His  place  of  residence  in 
Philadelphia,  391.  Notices  of,  by  Horace  Binney 
Wallace,  354,  note;  by  Daniel  Webster,  866,  note; 
and  by  Bichard  Bush,  394. 

• , Mrs.  William,  only  child  of  Elias  Boudinot,  338, 

339.  The  guest  of  Mrs.  Susan  Wallace,  394,  395.  An 
intimate  friend  of  Mrs.  Washington,  393.  Accounts 
of  her,  by  Kichard  Bush  and  Mrs.  Wallace,  394,  and 
note. 

Braintree,  Massachusetts,  the  place  of  residence  of  John 
Adams,  128, 170. 

Brand-Bollis,  Thomas,  extract  from  a letter  of  Mrs.  John 
Adams  to,  169. 

Brant , or  Thayendanegea,  chief  of  the  six  nations  of  In- 
dians, a troublesome  loader,  223,  224. 

Braye , Chevalier  de,  unites  with  the  Cincinnati  Society 
of  Boston,  in  an  address  to  Washington,  190. 

Breclc , Mr.  and  Mrs.,  letter  to,  from  Mrs.  Church,  3S0. 

Brehan,  Marchioness  de,  sister  of  the  Count  de  Moustier, 
92,  93.  In  the  “ Invitation  List  ” of  Mrs.  Jay,  99,  note. 
At  the  Inauguration  Ball  (May  ’89),  156.  Her  taste 
displayed  at  the  illumination  on  the  occasion,  145. 
Pays  her  respects  to  Mrs.  Washington,  164.  Her 
portraits  of  Washington,  93,  353.  Mr.  Jefferson’s 
complimentary  letter  to,  93.  Complimentary  de- 
scription of  her  by  General  Armstrong,  98. 

Brenoort,  Nicholas,  marries  Miss  Blair,  104. 

Brissot  (M.)  de  Warville,  account  of  his  journey  between 


New  York  and  Philadelphia,  117.  His  adventureg 
from  Boston  to  New  York,  117, 118.  His  favorable 
opinion  of  American  inns,  118 ; and  American  packet- 
boats,  118,  note.  His  anecdote  of  Count  de  Moustier 
and  President  Griffin,  33,  note.  His  publications,  84, 
note,  nis  controversies  with  de  Moustier  and  Chas- 
tcllux,  85.  Lafayette’s  opinion  of,  85,  note.  Wash- 
ington’s remark  on,  84.  His  ideas  of  fashionable  life 
in  Philadelphia,  85.  Describes  Cyrus  Griffin  and  his 
family,  90.  His  account  of  domestic  life  at  Mount 
Vernon,  161.  His  remarks  on  the  character  and 
dress  of  the  ladies  at  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  Qua- 
keresses in  particular,  268.  Describes  the  social 
characteristics  of  New  York,  86—88 ; dress,  equi- 
pages, luxury,  bachelors,  tea,  fruit,  87;  fish,  hair- 
dressers, and  clothes- washing,  8S ; cheating,  and  ex- 
pense of  living,  88 ; fees  of  lawyers  aud  physicians, 
89.  Dines  at  Mr.  Jay’s,  90;  list  of  guests  on  the  occa- 
sion, 91.  His  favorable  opinion  of  Jay,  Madison,  and 
others,  89.  Dines  at  Alexander  Hamilton's,  and 
describes  Mrs.  H.,  89.  His  amusing  description  of 
cigar-smoking,  87.  Notice  of,  84, 85. 

British  Army , evacuation  of  New  York  by,  2. 

, Officers,  many  of  them  marry  American  women,  4. 

note. 

Brittan , Thomas,  his  portrait  by  Woolaston,  in  the  British 
Museum,  159,  note. 

Bronson , Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “Invitation  List,”  98,  note. 

Brooks,  General,  his  salute  to  Washington  at  Cambridge. 
187. 

Brooklyn  Ferry.  See  New  York  City. 

Brotherson,  Mrs.,  in  the  list  of  “ belles  and  dames  ” at 
Philadelphia,  in  1757, 13. 

Brougham , Lord,  his  account  of  Charles  Carroll  and  his 
family,  208,  note.  His  remarks  on  Talleyrand  as  a 
writer,  438. 

Broxon,  Charles  Brockden,  his  striking  picture  of  the 
yellow  fever  at  Philadelphia,  in  1793,  370,  note. 

-,  John,  a member  of  CoDgress,  his  place  of  residence 

at  New  York  in  1789,  166,  note. 

Brown's  Coffee  Bouse , Savannah,  Washington  dines  there 
with  the  city  authorities,  337. 

Browne,  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  9S,  note. 

Bruce,  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “Invitation  List,”  98,  note. 

Buchan , Earl  of,  introduces  Eobertson,  the  artist,  to 
Washington,  410;  and  sends  to  Washington  a box  re- 
ceived from  the  Goldsmiths’  Company,  410. 

Buchanan  family,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  Whig  families 
of  the  city,  31,  note t. 

Buckminster,  Bev.  Dr.  Joseph,  of  Boston,  Washington 
attends  public  worship  at  the  church  of,  196.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Lee,  who  was  his  biographer,  196. 

Bunker's  Botel,  New  York,  formerly  owned  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Comb,  and  occupied  by  Washington.  16S. 

Burd,  James,  in  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  Philadel- 
phia dancing  assembly,  1748, 13,  note.  Mrs.  B.  in  the 
list  of  Philadelphia  “ belles  and  dames,”  1757, 13,  note. 

Burgoyne , General,  principal  scenes  of  the  misfortunes 
of;  340. 

Burke,  Edanus,  of  South  Carolina,  member  of  Congress, 
his  place  of  residence  at  New  York,  167,  note. 

Burr,  Aaron,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  “ Invitation  List,”  98,  note. 
One  of  the  attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  in  1789, 175.  Marries  Mrs.  Pre- 
vost,  the  widow  of  a British  officer,  174.  His  warm 
attachment  to  her,  and  hers  to  him,  174,  175.  His 
profligacy,  174.  His  friend  Davis  gives  an  account  of 
his  intrigues,  174,  note.  His  personal  appearance, 
175.  Lives  in  style  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  gives 
entertainments  to  politicians,  395. 

Bush  Bill,  the  residence  of  John  Adams  near  Philadel- 
phia, 106,  249. 


INDEX. 


461 


Butler  family,  standing  of  the,  at  Philadelphia,  166,  note. 

, Pierce,  of  South  Carolina,  United  States  Senator, 

his  place  of  residence  at  Now  York,  166,  note.  He 
and  his  wife  and  daughters  in  the  “ Invitation  List  ” 
of  Mrs.  Jay,  98,  note.  "With  “Washington,  at  Charles- 
ton and  Savannah,  835,  336. 

Byrd , Colonel  William,  of  Westover,  Virginia,  son-in-law 
of  Charles  Willing,  of  Philadelphia,  15.  His  place  of 
residence,  294,  298. 

Byron , Lord,  his  tribute  to  Washington,  249. 


C. 

Cabinet , formation  of  Washington’s,  a matter  of  the  deep- 
est personal  interest  to  him,  180. 

Cadwallader,  Lambert,  of  New  Jersey,  member  of  Con- 
gress, his  residence  at  New  York,  166,  note.  In  the 
“ Invitation  List  ” of  Mrs.  Jay,  98,  note. 

Caermarthen,  Marquis  of  (afterward  Duke  of  Leeds), 
marries  the  widow  of  Colonel  Ilarvey,  209,  note*. 

Cairnie , Miss  Isabella,  in  the  list  of  “ belles  and  dames,” 
at  Philadelphia,  in  1757, 13,  note. 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  Washington’s  reception  at, 
186,  193.  Description  of  the  Philosophy  Room  at, 
193,  note. 

, England,  young  men  of  America  scholars  at,  at  tho 

beginning  of  the  Revolution,  7. 

Camden , South  Carolina,  Washington's  visit  to,  338. 

Campan,  Madame,  one  of  the  sisters  of  Genet,  351,  note. 

Cape  Fear  Hirer,  331. 

Capfique,  M.,  his  remarks  on  honest  politicians,  423,  424. 

Cards,  the  fashionable  evening  amusement  in  New  Eng- 
land, in  1787,  46. 

Carey,  Matthew,  honorably  conspicuous  (1793)  in  Phila- 
delphia during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever, 
370,  note. 

Caricatures,  of  Washington,  123,  note;  and  of  Robert 
Morris,  234. 

Carr,  Mrs.,  aunt  of  Martha  Jefferson,  219. 

Carriages,  and  coaches,  Washington’s,  330,  note,  365,  366. 

Carrington,  Col.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  99, 
note. 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  Maryland,  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  119.  Member  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments for  Washington’s  Inauguration,  139.  His 
family,  209.  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York, 
166,  note.  Biographical  notice  of,  208. 

, Mrs.  Charles,  jun.,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Chew  of 

Philadelphia,  395.  Sister  of  Mrs.  Philips,  395.  A 
great  favorite  with  Washington,  395.  Now  (October, 
1854,)  living,  395. 

■ , Daniel,  of  Maryland,  hia  place  of  residence  in  New 

York,  166,  note. 

, Polly,  marries  (November,  1786,)  Richard  Caton, 

104,  209.  Washington’s  admiration  of,  210. 

Carrollton,  Maryland,  the  family  residence  of  Charles 
Carroll,  208,  note. 

Caton,  Richard,  marries  (November,  1786,)  Polly  Carroll, 
104,  209.  Three  of  his  daughters  married  to  British 
noblemen,  209. 

Ceracchi,  Giuseppe,  sculptor,  visits  America,  410.  nis 
bust  of  Washington,  410.  His  design  for  a monument 
of  the  American  Revolution,  410.  Attempts  to  assas- 
sinate Napoleon,  and  is  put  to  death,  410. 

Chancellor , family,  of  Philadelphia,  its  antiquity,  12. 

Charles  Rimer,  193. 

Charleston,  South  Carolina,  Washington  visits,  333,  336. 
Corporation  ball  (1791)  at,  334.  Celebration  of  his 
birth-day,  217.  Reception  of  Genet  at,  292.  State  of 
society  in,  332,  833.  City  Hall  of,  279.  Merchants’ 
Exchange,  336.  St.  Cecilia  Society,  279. 


Charlestown  Heights,  Massachusetts,  193. 

Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  Washington  at,  333. 

Charlton,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “Invitation  List,” 
98,  note. 

Chastellux,  Francis  Jean,  Marquis  de,  Major  General  un- 
der Rochambeau,  9,  note.  Grandson  of  d’Aguesseau, 
160.  His  description  of  Washington’s  personal  ap- 
pearance, 372.  His  description  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
160.  Dines  at  Mr.  Breck’s,  at  Boston,  with  Vaudreuil, 
9 ; and  there  meets  with  the  accomplished  Mrs.  Tu- 
dor, 9.  His  admiration  of  the  granddaughter  of  Mr. 
Bowdoin,  9.  His  account  of  social  life  in  Boston,  9. 
His  admiration  of  the  women  of  Philadelphia,  291. 
His  remark  on  Lady  Temple,  94.  His  marriage,  9, 
note.  Washington’s  playful  letter  to  him  on  the  oc- 
casion, 9,  note.  His  account  of  American  inns,  118. 
His  remarks  on  frequent  eating  in  America,  and  on 
card-playing,  10.  His  criticisms  of  American  man- 
ners, 434.  His  writings,  9,  note.  Biographical  notice 
of,  9,  note. 

Chateaubriand,  M.,  nephew  of  Malesherbes,  visits  (1790) 
the  U.  8.,  378.  His  tour  in  this  country  suggests  his 
greatest  works,  378. 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  a portrait  of  him  in  the  Philosophy 
Room  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  193,  note. 

Chaumont,  M.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  99,  note. 

Chesterfield,  Lord,  Mrs.  Warren's  criticism  of,  200,  note. 

Chew,  Benjamin,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  high 
standing  of  the  family  of,  12,  294, 328.  Rochefoucauld, 
an  intimate  friend  of,  385.  His  baronial  house  at  Ger- 
mantown, 895.  His  residence  in  Philadelphia,  15. 
His  daughter  Peggy  marries  John  Eager  Howard, 
395,  432;  Sophia  marries  Henry  Philips,  895;  and 
Harriet  marries  Charles  Carroll,  411,  note. 

, Mrs.  one  of  the  dlite  of  Philadelphia,  23. 

, The  misses,  at  Mrs.  Washington’s  first  levee  at 

Philadelphia,  326. 

, Sophia,  portrait  of,  by  Trumbull,  414.  Marries 

Henry  Philips,  895. 

, Harriet,  portrait  of,  by  Trumbull,  410.  Accom- 
panies Washington  several  times  while  he  sits  for  his 
portrait  by  Stuart,  411,  note.  Marries  Charles  Car- 
roll,  411,  note. 

Childs  eS>  Swaine , printers  of  the  Daily  Advertiser,  at 
New  York,  234. 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  237.  The  bell  of,  chimed  at 
the  reception  of  Genet,  349.  Washington  regularly 
worshipped  at,  366. 

Church,  Mr.,  dines  with  General  Knox,  97. 

, Mrs.,  daughter  of  General  Schuyler,  and  sister  of 

Mrs.  Hamilton,  3S0.  Gives  Talleyrand  and  Beaumet 
a letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Breck,  380. 

Church  of  England,  the  proprietory  descendants  of  Wil- 
liam Penn  return  to  the,  12. 

Church  street,  Charleston,  Washington’s  place  of  resi- 
dence in,  335,  note. 

Cigar,  the,  described  by  iff  Brissot,  87.  Its  moral  and 
social  effects,  87. 

Cilley,  General,  his  reception  of  “VYashington  at  Ports- 
mouth, 196. 

Cimetiere,  M.  Du,  a Genevan  artist,  arrives  (1760)  at  Phil- 
adelphia, 408.  Washington’s  opinion  of,  408.  Takes 
portraits  of  Gates,  Steuben,  and  others,  408. 

ancinnali  Society,  honor  Washington,  177,  178, 191,  228, 
333,  336.  Wear  mourning  for  Franklin,  222.  Wash- 
ington dines  with,  at  Charleston,  337. 

Circus.  See  Ricketts. 

Citess,  marriages  announced  in  the  democractic  papers  of 
Genet’s  day  as  partnerships  between  a citizen  and  a, 
350. 

Citizen,  the  title  introduced  by  Jacobins  from  Franco. 
850. 


462 


INDEX. 


City  Hall  of  New  York,  29, 119.  Renovated  and  called 
Federal  Hall,  120. 

• of  Charleston,  835. 

City  Tavern , New  York,  kept  by  Samuel  Fraunces,  148, 
note , 178.  The  place  where  Washington  took  leave 
(Dec.  4, 1783)  of  the  officers  of  the  American  army, 
148,  note.  The  place  where  the  “ Social  Club”  met, 
148,  note. 

, Philadelphia,  350. 

Clark , Mr.,  of  Philadelphia,  the  builder  of  Washington’s 
carriage  for  six  horses,  330. 

Clarkson  family,  of  New  York,  the  residence  of,  80. 

, Freeman,  General,  Levinus,  and  Stratford,  in  Mrs. 

Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  98,  note. 

■ , Thomas,  honorably  conspicuous  (1793)  in  Philadel- 

phia, 370,  note. 

Claviere , M.,  the  friend  of  Erissot,  86. 

Clergy , of  Boston,  address  Washington,  190.  Of  New 
York,  list  of,  in  1789, 138,  note.  Of  Philadelphia,  108. 
Some  of  the,  epicures,  213. 

Clifften,  Miss  Betty,  one  of  the  belles  of  Philadelphia,  in 
1757,  13. 

Clinton,  George,  Governor  of  New  York,  the  high  stand- 
ing of  his  family,  203.  Description  of  Mrs.  C.  and  her 
daughters,  by  Mrs.  Smith,  95.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invi- 
tation List,”  98,  note.  Is  waited  on  by  John  Q. 
Adams,  78.  Is  with  Washington  at  dinner,  2,  133, 
134,  164,  228 ; at  the  theatre,  159 ; and  at  Col.  Bau- 
man’s military  review,  211.  Enters  New  York,  in 
company  with  Washington,  when  it  was  evacuated 
(17S3)  by  the  British  troops,  2.  Gives  public  dinners 
on  the  occasion,  2.  Accompanies  Washington  to 
Rhode  Island,  227 ; and  on  the  way  to  Philadelphia, 
229.  His  anjcdote  of  Baron  Steuben  and  the  Doctors’ 
Mob,  102,  note*.  With  Washington  proposes  to  buy 
Saratoga  Springs,  35.  Notice  of,  94,  95. 

, Mrs.  George,  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156.  Pays 

her  respects  to  Mrs.  Washington,  164.  Is  at  Wash- 
ington's last  public  dinner  in  New  York,  228. 

, Cornelia  Tappan,  daughter  of  Governor,  marries 

M.  Genet,  351. 

, General  James,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,” 

98,  note. 

, De  Witt,  Governor  of  New  York,  marries  a 

daughter  of  Walter  Franklin,  32,  note t. 

Cloud , Rev.  Mr.,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  one  of  the  re- 
sident clergymen  of  New  York,  in  1789,  138,  note. 

Club.  See  Tuesday  Evening  Club;  Moot;  and  Social 
Club. 

Clymer,  family,  its  high  standing  at  Philadelphia,  294, 
328. 

— - — , George,  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania, 
58, 166,  note.  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  in 
1789,  166,  note.  Brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Willing,  293. 
Character  and  personal  appearance  of,  58. 

, Mrs.,  one  of  the  fashionable  dames  (1757)  of  Phila- 
delphia, 13. 

Cobbett,  William,  in  America,  in  1794,  the  writings  of, 
379.  Assumes  the  name  of  Peter  Porcupine,  379. 
Opposes  the  French  interest  in  the  IT.  S.,  379. 

Cochrane,  Sir  Francis,  son  of  Lord  Dundonald,  81. 

Colden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  98, 
note. 

, Captain,  salutes  Washington,  at  Boston,  193. 

Coles,  Isaac,  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia,  his  place 
of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Collect.  See  Kolch. 

College,  Columbia.  See  Columbia  College. 

, King's  (now  Columbia),  its  condition  in  1783,  31. 

of  New  Jersey.  See  Nassau  Hall. 

Colonies,  American,  political  condition  of,  in  1783,  37. 
Franklin’s  measures  (1754, 1775),  for  a union  of;  38. 


Their  unparalleled  advance  in  population  and  pros- 
perity, 6,  7. 

Columbia,  South  Carolina,  visited  by  Washington,  338. 

College,  New  York,  176,  and  note.  Washington 
and  Adams  at  the  commencement  of,  May  6, 1789 
158. 

, District  of.  See  District  of  Columbia. 

Columbian  Magazine,  notices  Miss  Mary  Leech,  105. 

Order.  See  Tammany  Society. 

Columbus,  Vision  of.  See  Barlow. 

Concerts  of  Music,  encouraged  (1787)  in  Boston,  46. 

Concert  Hall,  at  Boston,  192. 

Condorcet,  M.,  his  oration  on  Franklin,  223. 

Confederation  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Franklin’s  (1754) 
plan,  38.  His  Articles,  38.  Secrecy  in  relation  to 
them,  39,  40.  Articles  of,  adopted,  40.  Account  of 
them,  40,  42.  Virginia  proposes,  43.  Commissioners 
at  Annapolis,  43.  See  Constitution  of  the  U.  S. 

Congress,  American,  measures  of;  for  a confederation,  38. 
Declaration  of  American  Independence,  39.  Secret 
deliberation  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  39. 
Adopts  (Nov.  1777)  the  Articles;  40.  Limited  powers 
of,  in  1777,  41.  Orders  (1783)  the  disbanding  of  the 
army,  1.  Farewell  to,  by  Washington  as  commander- 
in-chief,  5.  Adjourns  (Oct.  1783)  from  Philadelphia 
to  Princeton,  231;  and  then  to  New  York  (1785),  78. 
State  of,  in  the  winter  of  1788,  1789, 113.  Observa- 
tions on  the  members  of,  74,  75.  Mirabeau  calls  them 
a company  of  demigods,  75.  Eulogiums  on  them,  by 
William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham,  75,  76.  Measures  of, 
to  restore  the  national  credit,  42. 

of  the  United  States,  slow  in  assembling,  114,  216. 

Causes  of  this,  114, 115.  Warm  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  titles,  152.  Place  of  meeting  in  New  York,  119. 
Character  of  the  members  of,  119.  Prepare  to  receive 
the  President  and  Vice  President,  123.  Debates  of,  in 
1790  and  1791,  329.  Consider  the  subject  of  a national 
bank,  329 ; and  of  a tax  on  ardent  spirits,  329.  Take 
measures  (1789)  for  transmitting  the  mail,  by  stage- 
wagons,  117,  note.  Request  the  President  to  appoint 
a day  of  religious  thanksgiving,  181.  Washington’s 
address  to  (1793),  on  the  occasion  of  his  re-election  as 
President,  343.  Richard  Rush's  account  of  the  open- 
ing of,  by  Washington,  367.  Mourning  for  the  mother 
of  Washington,  180 ; and  for  Dr.  Franklin,  222. 

Connecticut,  ratifies  the  Constitution  (1778),  165.  Oliver 
W oleott,  Governor  of,  204. 

Conogocheague,  the  former  name  of  the  District  of  Colum  - 
bia,  232.  Described  in  satirical  verses  by  Freneau, 
237. 

Constable,  Mr.,  in  the  Invitation  List  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98,  note. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States,  early  measures  leading 
to  its  adoption,  43,  44.  Character  of  the  framers  of,  44, 
45.  Remarks  on,  by  Hamilton  and  Franklin,  77. 
Ratified  before  (July  1st,  178S),  by  Delaware,  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Connecticut,  Massa- 
chusetts, Maryland,  South  Carolina,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Virginia,  105.  The  ratification  of,  celebrated  at 
Baltimore,  105;  Philadelphia,  106 — 108;  New  York, 
109. 

Contee,  Benjamin,  Member  of  Congress  from  Maryland, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Continental  Congress.  See  Congress,  American. 

Convention  of  the  States,  first  measure  for,  by  Virginia, 
43.  First  meeting  of  Commissioners,  43,  44.  Sea 
Constitution. 

Conveyances,  public,  tceount  of,  117,  note. 

Conyngham,  R.,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  174S,  13. 

family,  its  standing  in  Philadelphia,  12. 

Cooper,  Rev.  Thomas,  of  Boston,  called  “the  silver- 
tongued  orator,”  8. 


INDEX 


463 


Cooper , Dr.  Thomas,  in  America,  in  1794,  379.  Intimate 
friend  of  Dr.  Priestley,  380.  Partisan  of  Brissot,  380. 
Settles  in  Northumberland,  380. 

Copley , John  Singleton,  artist,  407.  Paintings  by,  in  the 
Philosophy  Boom  at  Cambridge,  193,  note.  His  pic- 
ture of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Izard,  172 ; and  of  Mrs.  Hancock, 
192,  note.  His  works  commended,  407. 

, John  Singleton,  (Lord  Lyndhurst,)  son  of  the 

artist,  8.  Is  present  at  a dinner  giyen  by  Louis  Phi- 
lippe, at  Philadelphia,  386.  His  personal  appearance, 
387. 

Corbit,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  98,  note. 

Cornell  family,  of  New  York,  place  of  residence  in  the 
city,  33,  note. 

Cornwallis , Lord,  the  plains  where  Gates  was  engaged 
by,  338. 

Cortlandt  family,  in  New  York,  baronial  rank  of,  203. 

Coster  family,  residence  of,  at  New  York,  30,  note. 

Costume  in  America,  described  by  Chastellux,  434 ; and 
by  Wansey,  374.  Of  ladies,  in  17S9, 155,  note.  Ladies 
at  Boston,  192 ; at  Charleston,  332, 334, 335,  note.  Ball 
dresses  of  ladies,  155, 158, 408.  Gentlemen,  46,  47, 158, 
332.  Judges,  47.  Postilions,  160.  Changes  in  the 
old  costume,  first  made  at  Boston,  332. 

Cotillions , date  of  their  introduction,  47. 

Cottenham , John,  subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13,  note. 

Court  House , Boston,  194. 

Supreme,  in  New  England,  winter  costume  of  the 

Judges,  47 ; summer  costume,  47. 

Coxe,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  dine  with  Washington,  at  Philadel- 
phia, 388. 

Cosine , John,  a distinguished  lawyer  of  New  York,  110. 

Cozzens  family,  of  Philadelphia,  13,  note.  William,  a sub- 
scriber to  the  Philadelphia  dancing  assembly,  in  1748, 
13,  note. 

Crawford , Mr.,  British  consul  at  New  York,  his  place  of 
residence,  32,  note  *.  Marries  the  widow  of  Kobert  C. 
Livingston,  32,  note  *. 

Creek  Indians , 224.  Visit  the  painting  room  of  Col.  John 
Trumbull,  225. 

Crevecceur,  M.  de,  210.  French  Consul  at  New  York,  94, 
note*.  M.  Otto  marries  the  daughter  of,  94 ,note*. 
Notice  of,  87,  note. 

Crown  Point , visited  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison, 
340. 

Cruger  family,  of  New  York,  their  place  of  residence,  31, 
note*.  Henry,  in  the  Invitation  List  of  Mrs.  Jay,  98, 
note.  Nicholas,  110. 

Cushing  family,  of  Boston,  ancient  and  distinguished,  8. 

, William,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  U.  S., 

181 . At  W ashington's  farewell  dinner,  418.  At  Adams’s 
inauguration,  419. 

, Mrs.,  wife  of  J udge  C.,  her  account  of  dining  with 

the  President,  388.  Her  diary,  331,  note.  Mrs.  Pinck- 
ney’s letter  to,  387,  note.  Mention  of  Gilbert  Stuart, 
by,  411.  Notice  of,  387,  note. 

Cu8tis,  Mrs.  Daniel  Parke,  Woolaston’s  portrait  of,  159, 
note.  Her  attractions,  160.  See  Washington , Mrs. 

, Eleanor,  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  161, 

369.  Goes  with  her  (May,  1789)  to  New  York,  161 ; 
and  from  Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon,  421.  Her 
practising  on  the  harpsichord,  370 ; Mrs.  Adams  pro- 
poses that  Josiah  Quincy  shall  pay  his  addresses  to  her 
or  her  sister,  401.  Marries  Lawrence  Lewis,  Wash- 
ington’s nephew,  421.  Trumbull’s  portrait  of,  410. 
Madame  Frere  very  intimate  with,  38S. 

, George  Washington  Parke,  grandson  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, 161, 369.  Schoolfellow  of  William  A.  Duer,  212, 
note.  Attends  Mrs.  Washington  (May,  1789)  to  New 
York,  161, 162.  His  account  of  Washington’s  farewell 
to  New  York,  229,  note.  With  Washington  on  his 


retiring  from  Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon,  421. 
His  list  of  the  intimate  friends  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
893.  His  opinion  of  the  merits  of  Woolaston,  as  an 
artist,  159,  note. 

Cuyler,  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  98,  note. 


D. 

Daily  Advertiser , a New  York  journal,  344. 

Dallas  family,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  position,  328. 

, Eittenhouse,  and  Duponceau,  their  address  to 

Genet,  349. 

Dalton,  Tristram,  of  Massachusetts,  U.  8.  Senator,  139. 
One  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  at  Washing- 
ton’s Inauguration,  139.  His  place  of  residence  in 
New  York,  166,  note. 

, Mrs.  Tristram,  156,  164. 

Dana  family,  of  Boston,  ancient  and  distinguished,  8. 

, Francis,  American  Minister  to  Eussia,  78. 

, Eev.  Dr.  James,  a Congregational  minister,  of  New 

Haven,  184. 

, the  beautiful  Miss,  niece  of  Francis,  glowing  de- 
scription of,  by  Mrs.  Adams,  296. 

Dancing  Assembly,  list  of  subscribers  for  (1748)  in  Phila- 
delphia, 13,  note. 

, fashionable  (1787)  in  New  England,  46.  Style  of, 

at  that  period,  47.  At  Philadelphia,  327 ; described 
by  Chastellux,  434.  At  Charleston,  333.  Eendered 
significant  of  the  union  of  France  and  America,  158. 
See  Cotillions  and  Minuet. 

Dandridge,  Miss  Martha,  afterwards  Mrs.  Washington, 
159. 

Dane,  Nathan,  of  Massachusetts,  Member  of  Congress,  78. 
In  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  91,  99,  note. 

Darby,  a village  near  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Washington’s 
reception  at,  162. 

Darley,  Mr.,  a player  at  Philadelphia,  371. 

Daubeny,  Mrs.,  of  New  York,  her  fashionable  boarding- 
house in  Wall  street,  31,  note  t. 

Dauphin  of  France,  birth-day  of,  celebrated  at  Philadel- 
phia, 19.  Dr.  Bush’s  description  of  the  celebration,  19. 

Davey,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “dames,”  in  1757, 13. 

Davie,  William  Bichardson,  of  North  Carolina,  69.  Char- 
acter, history,  and  personal  appearance  of,  69.  Mili- 
tary exploits  of,  70. 

Davis,  Matthew  L.,  his  account  of  Aaron  Burr's  profligacy, 
174,  note. 

, Miss  Eebecca,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles,”  in 

1757, 13. 

Dances,  Judge,  of  Boston,  his  triumphal  arch  in  honor  oS 
Washington,  188. 

Deane,  Silas,  Amerioan  Minister  to  France,  172. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  See  Independence. 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  the  grave  of,  visited  by  Washington,  338. 

De  Lancey  family,  of  New  York,  16,  203.  Mrs.  Izard,  of 
South  Carolina,  a member  of,  172. 

, General  Oliver,  of  the  British  army,  marries  Phila, 

daughter  of  David  Franks,  26.  Charlotte,  25. 

, Stephen,  of  New  York,  member  of  “The  Moot” 

club,  148,  note. 

Delaware,  State  of,  sends  commissioners  to  Annapolis,  43. 
Eatifies  (1788)  the  Constitution  of  the  U.  S.  105. 

Del  Campo,  M.,  of  Spain,  dines  at  Mr.  Jay’s,  90. 

Della  Crusca  (Mr.  Merry),  406.  Driven  from  England, 
406.  Mrs.  Morton’s  verses  on,  407. 

Democrats,  and  Democratic  Societies,  160,  note,  350,  353, 
354,  355,  362,  369.  Object  to  Mrs.  Washington’s  draw- 
ing-rooms, 369.  Her  opinion  of,  160,  note,  369,  870. 

Dennie,  Joseph,  of  Philadelphia,  a companion  of  Moore, 
the  poet,  162,  note. 

Denning  family,  of  New  York,  their  residence,  81,  note  t. 


464 


INDEX. 


De  Peyater  family,  of  New  York,  their  residence,  81, 
note*. 

, Frederic  and  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List, 

99,  note. 

Devonshire,  Duchess  of,  Mrs.  Adams's  opinion  of  the 
beauty  of,  295. 

Dich,  Miss  Molly,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles,”  in 
1757, 13. 

Dickinson , Governor  John,  delegate  from  Delaware  to 
the  “Convention,”  59.  Opposed  (1776)  to  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  60.  At  the  festival  in  honor 
of  the  Dauphin,  21.  Converses  with  Washington,  21. 
Miss  Yining's  letter,  (1783)  to,  22.  His  writings,  69. 
Character  and  personal  appearance  of,  60. 

Dietetics  in  America,  Yolney’s  remarks  on,  439,  440. 

Dinner-parties,  Wednesday,  given  by  Washington,  217. 

Directory,  New  York  (17S9),  contains  96  small  pages,  175. 

District  of  Columbia,  233. 

Doctors'  Mob,  in  New  York,  the  wounds  of  Mr.  Jay  and 
Baron  Steuben,  by  the,  102,  note. 

Dolgreen , Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757, 
13. 

Dolobran,  the  Lloyds  of  Philadelphia  descended  from  the 
ancient  house  of,  11. 

Domestic  goods,  the  manufacture  of,  patronized  by  Wash- 
ington, 161. 

Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  Henry  Wolcott  resides  (1630) 
there,  204 

Dowse,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Drama,  general  opposition  to  (1789),  211.  Intellectual 
and  moral  influence  of  the,  212.  Attended  by  Wash- 
ington, 212. 

Draper,  Sir  William,  his  lines  in  Latin,  in  the  vestibule 
of  Governor  Tryon's  palace  at  Newborn,  331,  note. 

Dress.  See  Costume. 

Drunkenness,  Dr.  Bamsay’s  account  of  its  prevalence  in 
Charleston,  332,  333. 

Duane , James,  distinguished  lawyer,  175.  Member  of 
“ The  Moot  ” club,  148,  note.  At  the  festival  in  honor 
of  the  Dauphin,  21.  His  wife  and  daughter  in  the 
“Invitation  List”  of  Mrs.  Jay,  99,  note.  Mrs.  D.  at 
the  Inauguration  Ball,  156. 

Duche,  Eev.  Dr.,  returns  to  America,  in  1793,  378. 

Duels,  very  frequently  occurred  in  South  Carolina,  332. 

Duer,  William  Alexander,  LL.  D.,  President  of  Columbia 
College,  son  of  Colonel  William  D.,  27.  Brother  of 
Judge  John  D.,  27.  His  recollections  of  New  York, 
27-33.  Present  at  Adams’s  inauguration,  419;  and 
describes  it,  419.  Account  of  his  dramatic  perform- 
ance before  Washington,  212,  note. 

, Colonel  William,  marries  Katherine  Alexander, 

daughter  of  Lord  Stirling,  27.  Brissot’s  admiration 
of,  89.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s  “ Invitation  List,”  99,  note.  His 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  32,  note  *. 

, Lady  Kitty,  daughter  of  Lord  Stirling,  79.  In  Mrs. 

Jay's  “ Invitation  List,”  99,  note.  Attends  the  Inaugu- 
ration Ball,  156.  Dines  at  General  Knox’s,  79.  Pays' 
her  compliments  to  Mrs.  Washington,  164.  Stanches 
Baron  Steuben’s  wound  received  in  the  Doctors’  Mob, 
102,  note*.  Her  personal  appearance  described  by 
John  Quincy  Adams,  79. 

Duke  of  Orleans.  See  Louis  Philippe. 

Dulaney  family,  of  Maryland,  loyalists,  16. 

Dumas,  Count  Mathieu,  his  description  of  Washington’s 
personal  appearance,  427. 

Dunlap,  William,  artist,  his  portrait  of  Washington,  40S. 
His  mention  of  Woolaston,  159,  note.  Takes  part  in 
the  “Constitution  celebration,”  (17SS),  110.  His  suc- 
cess as  a dramatic  writer,  214. 

Dunmore,  Lord,  the  period  when  he  left  America,  207. 

Duponceau,  Peter  S.,  267.  Marries  Anne  Perry,  105.  Is 
Secretary  of  a secret  society  of  Frenchmen,  34S. 


Unites  with  Dallas  and  Rittenhouse,  in  preparing  an 
Address  to  Genet,  349. 

Dupont , M.,  Secretary  to  the  French  Legation,  385.  His 
wife,  885. 

Dutch,  The,  brought  to  New  York  the  custom  of  New 
Year’s  calls,  214. 

Dutch  Church,  in  Garden  street,  New  York,  the  oldest 
church  in  the  city,  30,  note. 

, in  Philadelphia,  described  as  “ magnificent,”  237. 

Duyckinck  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  30,  note. 
Mr.  E.  A.  D.,  mentioned,  835,  note. 

Dwight,  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy,  206.  His  letter  to  Oliver 
Wolcott,  relative  to  the  scurrilous  attacks  on  Wash- 
ington, 844.  A guest  of  Oliver  Wolcott’s,  400. 

E. 

Edgar,  Mrs.,  of  New  York,  164.  Presents  a “suit  of  col- 
ors ” to  Commodore  Nicholson,  111. 

Eccleston,  Mr.,  of  Virginia,  an  amateur  statuary,  his  bust 
of  Washington,  412. 

Edinburgh , University  of,  young  Americans  become 
students  at,  7. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan,  184. 

Edwin,  the  engraver,  engraves  Savage’s  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington, 409. 

Effingham  family  of  New  Y ork,  residence  of,  38,  note. 

Eliot,  Miss  Sally,  marries  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  104 

Elizabethtown  Point,  130. 

Elliot , Andrew,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Ellis,  Miss  Patty,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles,”  in 
1757,  13. 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  Chief  Justice,  delegate  from  Connec- 
ticut to  the  “ Convention,”  51.  Senator  of  the  New 
Congress,  119.  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York, 
166,  note.  Guest  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  399.  His  letter 
to  Wolcott,  on  the  cost  of  living  in  New  York,  206. 
Is  present  at  Adams’s  inauguration,  419.  His  stories 
of  Dr.  Perkins,  403.  Character  and  personal  appear- 
ance of,  51,  52. 

Elmer,  Jonathan,  of  New  Jersey,  Senator  of  U.  S.,  his 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Embree  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Enfant,  Major  V,  architect,  arranges  the  proceedings  at 
the  “ Constitution  celebration,”  109.  Association  of 
his  name  with  Federal  Hall,  with  the  residence  of 
Robert  Morris,  and  with  the  plan  of  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington, 109,  note. 

Eppes,  John  W.  Marries  a daughter  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, 218,  219. 

Erskine,  Lord,  his  speech  in  the  case  of  Williams  against 
Faulder,  406.  His  tribute  to  Washington,  430. 

Eton  College,  England,  young  Americans  educated  at,  7. 

Evacuation,  of  the  city  of  New  York  (17S3)  by  the  British 
troops,  2.  Celebration  of  the  event,  2.  Description 
of,  by  an  American  officer,  3,  note  *. 

Ewing,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  Provost  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 266. 

Excellency,  a proposed  title  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  U.  S.,  152. 

F. 

Fairfax  family,  of  Virginia,  loyalists,  16. 

Fairlie,  Major,  his  residence  in  New  York,  32,  note  *. 

Fans  from  Paris,  with  medallion  portraits  of  Washing- 
ton, 156. 

Fanueil  Mall,  Boston,  191,  412.  Contains  a full-length 
portrait  of  Washington,  by  Stuart,  412. 

Fauchet,  M.  Jean  Antoine  Joseph  (afterward  Baron),  sue- 


INDEX. 


465 


ceeds  M.  Genet,  as  Minister  from  France,  884.  Notice 
of,  by  Adams,  384,  385.  His  remarks  on  the  Western 
Insurrection,  355.  His  famous  recovered  letters,  35S. 
Is  superseded  by  M.  Adet,  360.  The  Abbe,  his  eulogy 
on  Franklin,  223. 

Federal  Government,  limited  powers  of,  in  1777,  41,  42. 
Washington’s  remarks  on  the  subject,  42. 

Hall,  New  York,  216,  225.  Particular  description 

of,  120,  121,  122.  Major  l’Enfant,  the  architect  of, 

121. 

Federalists , 352,  353,  355.  Charges  against,  306.  Their 
social  characteristics,  29£L, 

Federalist,  The,  a series  of  Essays,  by  Hamilton,  Jay, 
and  Madison,  113. 

, a miniature  ship,  presented  to  Washington,  105, 

note. 

Fennell,  James,  a player,  at  Philadelphia,  315.  Dunlap’s 
account  of,  372. 

Fenno,  editor  of  the  “ Gazette,”  at  New  York,  his  account 
of  the  President’s  reception,  134.  His  observations 
on  Washington’s  household  economy,  149,  note. 

Ferguson,  Mrs.,  of  Philadelphia,  a poetess,  405.  Her  MS. 
writings,  405. 

Fessenden,  his  “Terrible  Tractoration ” mentioned,  403. 

Few,  Colonel  William,  of  Georgia,  Senator  of  TJ.  S.,  his 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note.  Dines 
with  Washington,  164.  Is  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation 
List,  99,  note.  His  playful  vindication  of  himself,  for 
marrying,  103. 

Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Lossing’s,  contains  an 
engraving  of  Governor  Tryon’s  residence,  331,  note. 

Fireworks,  display  of,  at  the  celebration  of  the  evacuation 
of  New  York  by  the  British  troops,  2. 

Fish,  Major  Nicholas,  took  part  in  the  “Constitution 
celebration,”  110. 

Fislibourn,  Miss  Sally,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,” 
in  1757,  13. 

Fisherman,  the  American,  Talleyrand's  description  of, 
438. 

Filzsimons,  Thomas,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Flat  Lands,  the  foot-race  of  the  grenadiers  at,  26. 

Flechier,  N.,  his  oration  on  Turenne,  quoted,  330,  note. 

Floyd,  William,  of  New  York,  Member  of  Congress,  his 
residence  in  the  city,  166,  note. 

Fluckner,  Mr.,  Secretary,  father  of  Mrs.  General  Knox, 
171. 

Force,  Peter,  of  Washington  City,  Washington’s  Diary  in 
possession  o£  432. 

Foreigners,  many  of  distinguished  rank  visit  the  TJ.  S., 
from  17S9  to  1797,  377. 

Forest,  Monsieur  and  Madame  de  la,  99  note,  156, 164. 

Fort  George , 31,  340. 

Washington , 227. 

William  Henry,  840. 

Foster,  Eev.  Mr.,  Baptist  minister  in  New  York,  in  1789, 
138,  note. 

, Sally,  marries  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  393. 

Fox,  Charles  James,  his  tribute  to  Washington,  430. 

France,  profound  interest  of,  in  American  affairs,  84. 
Alliance  of,  with  the  U.  S.,  217.  Portraits  of  the 
King  and  Queen  of,  presented  to  Congress,  by  Louis 
XVI.,  122.  Declares  war  against  Great  Britain,  347. 

Francis  family,  of  Philadelphia,  its  standing,  12,  294. 

, John,  a subscriber  to  the  Philadelphia  dancing  as- 
sembly, in  1748, 13. 

, Mrs.,  and  Misses  Molly  and  Betty,  among  the 

Philadelphia  “ dames  and  belles,”  in  1757, 13. 

, Thomas  Willing,  son-in-law  of  Thomas  Willing,  15. 

• , Dr.  John  W.,  142.  His  interesting  conversation 

with  Freneau,  345.  His  memoir  of  Bishop  Provoost, 
quoted,  176,  note  t. 


Franklin , William,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  danc- 
ing assembly,  in  1748, 13.  Mrs.  F.,  one  of  the  “ dames  ” 
of  Philadelphia,  in  1757,  13. 

— , Dr.  Benjamin,  delegate  from  Pennsylvania  to  the 

“ Convention,”  55.  Influence  of  his  negotiations  on 
the  destiny  of  the  U.  8.,  37.  His  first  plan  for  a union 
of  the  Colonies,  38.  Submits  to  Congress  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation,  38.  One.  of  the  Signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  56.  His  remark  on  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution,  77.  Jefferson,  the  Suc- 
cessor of,  as  Minister  to  France,  ISO.  His  grand- 
daughter marries  Harwood,  the  player,  372.  Miss 
Temple  meets  him  at  Governor  Bowdoin’s,  10.  His 
lost  manuscript,  219.  His  death  and  funeral,  221,  and 
note.  Tributes  to  him  by  Smith,  Stiles,  Mirabeau, 
Fauchet,  and  Condorcet,  222, 223.  Mourning  for,  222, 
223.  Character  and  personal  appearance  of,  55,  56. 

, Temple,  portrait  of,  by  Trumbull,  410. 

, Walter,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Society 

of  Friends,  32,  note  t.  His  residence,  32,  note  t.  One 
of  his  daughters  marries  De  Witt  Clinton,  ib. 

Franks  family,  of  Philadelphia,  now  represented  in  the 
female  lines,  13,  note  *. 

Franks,  David,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  1748, 13.  Mrs.  D.,  ono  of  the  Philadelphia 
“ dames  ” in  1757, 13. 

, David,  a rich  Jewish  merchant  of  Philadelphia, 

26.  His  daughter  Phila  marries  General  Oliver  Do 
Lancey,  26 ; Abigail  marries  Andrew  Hamilton,  27 ; 
Bebecca  marries  General  Sir  Henry  Johnson,  24; 
note,  27.  Trumbull’s  mention  of,  397. 

, Eebecca,  (afterward  Lady  Johnson,)  203.  Cele- 
brated for  her  wit,  22,  27.  Her  remarks  on  social  life, 
in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  22,  25.  Account  of, 
26. 

Frazer,  Charles,  his  “Beminiscences  of  Charleston,” 
quoted,  335,  note. 

Fraunces,  Samuel,  of  New  York,  called  “Black  Sam,” 
147,  note.  His  tavern  in  Broad  Street,  the  place 
where  Washington  bid  farewell  to  his  officers,  2.  His 
stage-office,  117,  note,  Washington  commends  him, 
244 ; writes  a letter  to  him,  149,  note  ; employs  the 
daughter  of,  as  a housekeeper,  147,  note. 

Frederick  of  Prussia,  sends  a sword  to  Washington,  146. 

, Maryland,  is  visited  by  Washington,  339. 

Fredericksburgh,  Virginia,  179,  330. 

Free  Masons,  227. 

French  Citizens,  many,  driven  to  the  U.  S.,  by  the  French 
Eevolution,  377.  Their  influence,  377,  378. 

fashions.  See  Costume. 

Eevolution,  reflections  on,  345, 346,  352.  Abolishes 

monarchy,  346.  Avows  atheism,  346.  Drives  many 
of  the  French  people  to  the  TJ.  S.,  377.  Jefferson  ap- 
proves of,  396. 

Squadron,  salute  Washington,  1S8,  189,  195. 

Freneau,  Philip,  editor  of  the  New  York  Daily  Adver- 
tiser, 234,  844.  A classmate  of  Madison,  at  Princeton 
college,  235,  344.  His  attacks  on  Washington,  345, 
849.  The  feelings  attributed  by  him  to  Hugh  Gaine, 
16.  nis  charge  brought  against  the  Philadelphia 
physicians,  370,  note.  His  satire  on  the  Journey  to 
New  York,  117.  Captain  of  a schooner,  136.  His 
part  in  the  French  Patriotic  Society,  348.  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson’s mention  of,  340,  note.  Account  of,  by  Dr. 
John  W.  Francis,  345.  Notice  of,  344. 

Frere,  Chevalier,  the  Portuguese  Minister,  and  Madame 
F.,  dine  with  Washington,  387.  Account  of  Madame 
F.,  387 ; and  of  her  diamonds,  388. 

Fresh  Water  Pond.  See  Kolch. 

Frestel,  M.,  tutor  of  George  W.  Lafayette,  390. 

Fulton , Eobert,  his  portrait  of  Washington,  in  1782, 
408. 


59 


466 


INDEX. 


Funerals,  mode  of  conducting,  in  New  England  (1787), 
47. 

Furnell,  Miss,  one  of  tho  Philadelphia  “belles,”  in  1757, 
13. 


G. 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  ot  South  Carolina,  a Representa- 
tive in  the  Congress  of  17G5,  72. 

Gains,  Hugh,  sign  of  tho  Bible  and  Crown,  removes  the 
royal  emblem  from  his  sign,  32.  Feelings  attributed 
to,  by  Freneau,  1G.  At  the  “Constitution  celebra- 
tion” in  New  York,  110. 

Gainsborough,  Thomas,  portrait  of  Mrs.  Izard,  by,  172. 

Gale,  George,  of  Maryland,  Member  of  Congress,  his 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  1G6,  note. 

Galissoniere,  Marquis  and  Marchioness  de  la,  190, 192. 

Galloway  family,  of  Philadelphia,  loyalists,  16.  Mrs.  G., 
much  admired,  23. 

Galveston,  The,  a Spanish  ship  of  war,  its  salutation  of 
Washington,  132. 

Gambling , at  Philadelphia,  327 ; and  at  Charleston,  333. 

Gardoguoi,  Don  Diego,  Spanish  Minister  to  the  U.  S.,  78, 
79.  Dines  with  Washington,  164.  Beautiful  illumi- 
nation of  his  house,  at  the  festival  of  the  Inaugura- 
tion, 145, 146.  Dines  at  Mr.  Jay's,  92.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s 
Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Garrick,  a portrait  of,  painted  by  Pine,  408. 

Gates,  General,  escorts  Washington  to  his  hotel  at  An- 
napolis, 4.  Reminiscence  of  his  engagement  with 
Cornwallis,  338.  Kosciusko,  at  the  house  of,  389.  A 
portrait  of,  by  Du  Cimetiere,  408. 

General,  the  title  by  which  Mrs.  Washington  spoke  of 
her  husband,  216. 

Genet,  M.,  Minister  of  the  French  Republic,  his  recep- 
tion at  Philadelphia,  348,  349.  Address  from  the 
democrats  to,  350.  Is  oifended  at  seeing,  at  Washing- 
ton's house,  the  bust  of  Louis  XVI.,  350.  Appeals 
from  the  government  of  the  TJ.  S.  to  the  people,  351. 
Notice  of  him,  and  of  his  sisters,  351,  note.  Marries 
Cornelia  Tappan  Clinton,  daughter  of  Governor  Clin- 
ton, 351 ; and,  afterward,  marries  a daughter  of  Mr. 
Osgood,  the  Postmaster-General,  352,  note.  Wash- 
ington complains  of  the  conduct  of,  351.  He  is  re- 
called, and  M.  Fauchet  takes  his  place,  384 

Gansevoort,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Gentlemen,  American,  style  of  dress  of,  in  1786,  46.  See 
Costume. 

George,  Miss,  (Mrs.  Oldmixon,)  a player,  at  Philadelphia, 
373. 

Georgetown,  Washington’s  reception  at,  126. 

Georgia,  State  of,  opposed  to  the  assumption  of  the  State 
debts,  232.  W ashington’s  reception  in,  337.  Ratifies 
(1788)  the  Constitution,  105. 

Gerard,  M.,  Washington’s  farewell  letter  to,  83. 

Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  Washington's  summer  resi- 
dence there,  in  1794,  371. 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  of  Massachusetts,  delegate  to  the  “ Con- 
vention,” 49.  Member  of  the  new  Congress,  119. 
One  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 49.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  Lists,  91,  99,  note. 
His  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note.  No- 
tice of,  49,  100,  note.  Mrs.  G.  pays  her  compliments 
to  Mrs.  Washington,  164.  Notice  of  her,  100,  note. 

Gibson,  Chief  Justice,  his  account  of  Washington’s  anger, 
kindled  by  Edmund  Randolph’s  “ Vindication,”  860. 

Gien , Yiscount  de  Ponteves,  French  admiral,  189,  and 
note. 

Giles,  Major  Aquila,  of  New  York,  takes  part  in  the 
“Constitution  celebration,”  110. 


Giles,  Mr.,  of  Virginia,  TJ.  S.  Senator,  anecdote  of  him 
and  Colonel  Trumbull,  396,  and  note,  397. 

Gilman,  Nicholas,  of  New  Hampshire,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, 166,  note.  Accompanies  Washington  to  Rhode 
Island,  227.  Dines  with  Mr.  Jay,  91.  Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s 
Invitation  List,  99,  note.  His  place  of  residenco  in 
New  York,  166,  note. 

Girard,  Stephen,  honorably  conspicuous  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1793,  370,  note. 

Glover,  General,  Washington  dines  with,  194. 

God,  the  Providence  of,  recognized  by  Congress,  181 ; tho 
existence  of,  denied  by  the  French  Convention,  346. 

Godons,  Thomas,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  danc- 
ing assembly,  in  1748, 13,  note. 

Goodhue , Benjamin,  of  Massachusetts,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 
Conducts  Washington  to  the  balcony  of  the  Stato 
House,  at  Boston,  194. 

Goodrich,  Cbauncey,  marries  the  youngest  sister  of  Oli- 
ver Wolcott,  400. 

, Elizur,  his  letter  introducing  Eli  Whitney  to  Oli- 
ver Wolcott,  in  1794,  403. 

Gorham,  Mr.  and  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note. 

Gould,  Edward,  a New  York  merchant,  Momber  of  tho 
Social  Club,  148,  note. 

Gouverneur,  Mr.,  of  New  York,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invita- 
tion List,  99,  note. 

Gray's  Ferry , a place  of  fashionable  resort  near  Phila- 
delphia, Rochefoucauld’s  description  of,  162,  note. 
Verses  on,  162,  note.  Reception  of  Genet  at,  348. 

Gray  don,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,”  in  1757, 
13. 

Grayson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note. 

, William,  of  Virginia,  Senator  of  the  U.  S.,  his 

place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Greame,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Jeany,  among  the  Philadelphia 
“ dames  and  belles,”  in  1757,  13. 

Great  Britain,  France  declares  war  against,  292.  Mr. 
Jay’s  treaty  with,  357. 

Green,  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel,  one  of  the  Chaplains  of  Con- 
gress, at  Dr.  Shippen’s,  when  the  subject  of  the  Pres- 
ident’s title  was  discussed,  153.  His  anecdote  of 
Washington,  in  relation  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
Government,  234 ; and  to  the  excitement  caused  by 
Mr.  Jay’s  treaty,  362. 

Greene,  General  Nathaniel,  Alexander  Hamilton's  ora- 
tion on  the  life  and  character  of,  178.  Hobkirk  Hill, 
where  Lord  Rawdon  attacked,  visited  by  Washington, 
338.  Washington  dines  with  Mrs.  G.,  338. 

Greenleaf,  Miss,  marries  Noah  Webster,  104 

, Mrs.,  (formerly  Miss  Allen  of  Philadelphia,)  326. 

, the  republican  printer,  place  of  his  office,  in  New 

York,  32,  note. 

Grenville,  Lord,  his  despatches,  relative  to  Fauchet  and 
Randolph,  358. 

Griffin , Cyrus,  President  (17S7)  of  Congress,  82.  His 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note.  His  din- 
ner-parties, 96.  Brissot’s  anecdote  of,  S3,  note ; and 
description  of  him  and  his  family,  90. 

, Lady  Christiana,  92,  97,  156, 164 

, David,  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  settle  the  dif- 
ficulties with  the  Creek  confederacy,  224 

Griswold,  Roger,  a guest  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  399. 

Gross,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  the  German  Church  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  in  17S9, 138,  note. 

Grout,  Jonathan,  of  Massachusetts,  Member  of  Congress, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Guest , Mr.,  his  fashionable  shop  at  Philadelphia,  824, 
note. 

Guilford,  North  Carolina,  visited  by  Washington,  338. 


INDEX. 


467 


Gullagher,  Mr.,  of  Boston,  sculptor,  his  bust  of  Washing- 
ton, 412. 

Chinn,  James,  of  Georgia,  TJ.  S.  Senator,  his  place  of  resi- 
dence in  New  Tork,  166,  note. 

G-ustamis  III,  Genet  (at  the  age  of  12  years)  receives  a 
gold  medal  and  flattering  letter  from,  351,  note. 


H. 

Buckley  family,  at  Philadelphia,  its  high  standing,  12. 

Bail  Columbia , the  national  song,  composed  by  Judge 
Hopkinson,  39S. 

Ball,  Susan,  cousin  of  Dr.  Rush,  at  the  festival  in  honor 
of  the  Dauphin,  20. 

Ballam,  Mr.,  a popular  player  in  America,  213. 

Ballett  family,  of  New  York,  the  place  of  residence  of, 
33,  note. 

Bamilton  family,  of  Philadelphia,  their  standing,  12.  Al- 
exander H.,  and  James  H.,  subscribers  to  the  Phila- 
delphia dancing  assembly,  in  1748, 13,  note.  Miss  H., 
295,  296.  Nancy  H.,  250.  Mrs.  H.,  one  of  the  Phila- 
delphia “dames,”  in  1757,  13. 

. , Alexander,  of  New  York,  delegate  to  the  “Con- 

vention,” 53.  Marries  a daughter  of  General  Schuyler, 
54.  His  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  29,  173. 
One  of  the  attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court,  175. 
John  Blair  Linn,  a law  student  in  the  office  of,  176. 
His  remarks  on  the  establishment  of  the  Constitution, 
77.  Is  one  of  the  authors  of  the  Essays  called  “ The 
Federalist,”  113.  Is  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  180.  A vindication  of,  from  the  suspicion 
of  favoring  “kingly  and  aristocratical ” institutions, 
221.  His  financial  schemes,  329.  At  the  President's 
request,  suggests  Rules  for  the  Chief  Executive’s  re- 
ceiving visitors,  and  entertaining  company,  150.  His 
letter  to  Washington,  urging  him  to  accept  the  Presi- 
dency for  a second  term,  841, 343.  Recovers  from  the 
yellow  fever,  371.  His  oration  on  the  death  of  Gen- 
eral Greene,  178.  His  influence  in  removing  the  seat 
of  Government  to  the  District  of  Columbia,  232,  233. 
In  his  Reports,  he  uses  the  decimal  system  of  dollars 
and  cents,  324,  note.  Resigns  his  office  as  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  356.  His  account  of  Erick  Bollman, 
3S9.  Brissott’s  admiration  of,  89.  His  character  vil- 
ified by  Freneau,  344.  Notice  of,  53, 173.  Personal 
appearance  of)  53. 

Bamilton , Mrs.  Alexander,  daughter  of  Gen.  Schuyler, 
54.  Sister  of  Mrs.  Church,  380.  Is  present  at  the 
Inauguration  Ball,  156 ; and  among  the  assemblage 
on  occasion  of  Hamilton’s  Oration  on  Gen.  Greene, 
178.  Is  an  intimate  friend  of  Mrs.  Washington,  393 : 
and  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note.  Is  now 
(November,  1854)  living,  395. 

■ — , Andrew,  of  Philadelphia,  marries  Abigail,  daugh- 

ter of  David  Franks,  27.  Occupies  the  finest  rural 
residence  in  Pennsylvania,  22,  27.  Mrs.  H.,  elder 
sister  of  Miss  Rebecca  Franks,  22. 

Bammatt,  Madame,  of  Bangor,  Maine,  niece  of  Mrs.  Cush- 
ing, 387,  note. 

Bammond,  George,  British  Minister,  marries  Miss  Allen, 
358,  380.  Description  of,  380.  He  and  Mrs.  H.  dine 
with  Washington,  387.  His  communication  with 
Wolcott,  respecting  Fauchet  and  Randolph,  358.  Is 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Liston,  3S7. 

Bampton , Colonel  Wade,  conducts  Washington  to  Colum- 
bia, South  Carolina,  338. 

Hancock,  John,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  8, 123.  His 
residence,  1S9.  His  reception  of  Vice  President 
Adams,  123.  Rumors  of  a misunderstanding  between 
him  and  Washington,  186, 190.  Presents  a rich  car- 
pet, for  the  Philosophy  Room  at  Cambridge,  193,  note. 


Mrs.  H.,  formerly  Miss  Quincy,  192,  note.  Notice  of 
her,  192,  note.  Copley’s  portrait  of  her,  ib. 

Hancock,  Thomas,  full-length  portrait  of,  in  the  Philoso- 
phy Room  at  Cambridge,  193,  note. 

Banding,  Miss  Peggy,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles” 
in  1757, 13. 

Baring,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Barkley , Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,”  in  1757, 
13. 

Barleston,  Mrs.,  and  her  mother,  mention  of,  by  Miss 
Franks,  26. 

Barper,  Robert  Goodloe,  a prominent  Federalist,  son-in- 
law  of  Charles  Carroll,  395. 

Barrison,  Anne,  marries  Thomas  Willing,  14.  Her  pedi- 
gree, 14. 

, Henry,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 

assembly,  in  1748, 13.  Mrs.  H.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia 
“ dames,”  in  1757, 13. 

, Richard  Nicholas,  of  New  York,  an  eminent  law- 
yer, 175,  211.  His  letter  to  Mr.  Powell,  relative  to 
the  effect  of  Washington’s  cares  and  duties  on  his 
health,  211.  Member  of  the  Social  Club,  148,  note. 
In  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Robert  H.,  Chief  Justice  of  Maryland,  declines  the 

appointment  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
U.  S.,  181. 

, Major  General  Thomas,  of  Cromwell’s  army, 

member  of  the  Long  Parliament,  14 ; and  of  the 
Court  that  condemned  Charles  I.,  14.  Paternal  grand- 
father of  Anne  Harrison,  14.  Copy  of  the  portrait  of, 
painted  for  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  14, 
note  §. 

, William  Henry,  President  of  the  United  States,  a 

descendant  of  Major  General  Thomas  H.,  of  Crom- 
well's army,  14,  note  §. 

Barsin,  Captain,  of  New  York,  his  celebrated  New  York 
Grenadiers,  139. 

Bartford,  Connecticut,  the  manufacturers  of,  present  a 
piece  of  broadcloth  to  Vice  President  Adams,  123. 
Reception  of  Washington  at,  184.  Oliver  Wolcott’s 
residence  at,  205. 

Bartley , Thomas,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Congress, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Barvard  College,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  7, 193, 194. 
Portrait  of  Washington  painted  for,  409. 

Barwood,  Mr.,  a player  at  Philadelphia,  marries  Miss 
Bache,  granddaughter  of  Dr.  Franklin,  372. 

Bathorn,  John,  of  New  York,  Member  of  Congress,  his 
place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Baviland  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Bawkins,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Bawlcs,  John,  architect,  his  drawings  of  the  old  palace  of 
Gov.  Tryon,  831,  note.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  L.  H., 
grandson  of  John  H.,  ib. 

Bawkshurt  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Bay,  John,  an  officer  of  the  British  army,  a member  of  the 
Social  Club  of  New  York,  148,  note. 

Bayes,  Lady,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Henry  White,  and  widow 
of  Peter  Jay  Monroe,  210,  note. 

Bazard,  Ebenezer,  Postmaster  General,  130. 

Beister,  Daniel,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Congress, 
his  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Benry,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  neighbors  of  Dr.  Rush,  present  at 
the  festival  in  honor  of  the  Dauphin,  20. 

, John,  of  Maryland,  U.  S.  Senator,  his  place  of  resi- 
dence in  New  York,  166,  note. 

, Patrick,  Governor  of  Virginia,  207.  His  speech 

on  the  U.  S.  being  independent  of  all  nations,  and  urn 
der  the  influence  of  none,  347. 

, Mr.,  a popular  player  at  Philadelphia,  213,  note. 

Bersey,  Ezekiel,  portrait  of,  in  the  Philosophy  Room  at 
Cambridge,  193,  note. 


468 


INDEX. 


Hervey,  Colonel,  aid-de-camp  to  'Wellington,  marries 
Miss  Caton,  209,  note.  His  widow  marries  the  Mar- 
quis of  Caermarthen  (Duke  of  Leeds),  209,  note. 

Ilewson , John,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Heyward , Judge,  of  New  York,  his  dwelling-house,  335, 
note. 

Hickman , Miss  Nancy,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,” 
in  1757,  13. 

Hicks  family,  of  New  York,  place  of  residence  of,  83, 
note. 

Hildreth , R.,  author  of  a History  of  the  United  States, 
157.  Corrected,  157. 

Hill  family,  of  Philadelphia,  aristocratic  ancestry  of,  11. 

, Richard,  jr.,  one  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Phila- 
delphia dancing  assembly  of  1748,  13. 

Hindman,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Hobard , Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Hobbes,  J.  R.,  his  biographical  account  of  John  Woolas- 
ton,  the  artist,  159,  note. 

Hoffman,  Charles  Fenno,  of  New  York,  207,  note. 

■,  Josiah  Ogden,  eminent  lawyer  of  New  York, 

175.  Takes  part  in  the  “ Constitution  Celebration,” 

110. 

Holland.  Mrs.,  her  fashionable  shop  in  Philadelphia, 
824. 

Hollis,  Thomas,  portrait  of,  in  the  Philosophy  Room  at 
Cambridge,  193,  note. 

Hone,  Messrs.,  of  New  York,  site  of  their  auction-room, 
82. 

Hooker , Rev.  Dr.  Herman,  his  tribute  to  Mrs.  Susan  Wal- 
lace, 366,  note. 

Hopkins,  Dr.  Lemuel,  mention  of,  by  Trumbull,  205, 
note,  206. 

Hopkinson,  Thomas,  a subscriber  to  the  Philadelphia 
dancing  assembly,  1748,  13.  Mrs.  H.,  one  of  the 
Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757,  13. 

, Judge  Francis,  of  Philadelphia,  author  of  the 

Battle  of  the  Kegs,  399.  Plans  the  Constitution 
celebration  (1788)  at  Philadelphia,  106.  His  ode  on 
the  occasion,  107.  nis  verses  on  Woolaston,  159, 
note.  The  companion  of  Dennie  and  Tom  Moore, 
162,  note.  Letter  to,  by  Washington,  while  sitting  for 
a portrait  by  Pine,  407. 

, Judge  Joseph,  of  Philadelphia,  author  of  “Hail 

Columbia,  398.  His  account  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  399. 

Hospitality,  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  332. 

Houdetot,  Madame  la  Contesso  d’,  Mr.  Jefferson's  letter 
to,  in  relation  to  Dr.  Franklin,  219. 

Houdon,  M.,  sculptor,  comes  (1785)  from  France,  with 
Dr.  Franklin,  36,  409.  Models  the  head  of  Washing- 
ton, at  Mount  Vernon,  409. 

Houston,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  in  the  Invitation  List  of  Mrs. 
Jay,  99,  note.  Mrs.  H.  pays  her  compliments  to  Mrs. 
Washington,  164. 

Hoioard,  John  Eager,  of  Baltimore,  U.  S.  Senator,  395. 
Marries  Miss  Chew,  395,  432. 

Howell,  Major,  his  Ode,  sung  by  ladies  of  Trenton,  on 
Washington’s  Triumphal  Progress,  129. 

Huger,  Daniel,  of  South  Carolina,  Member  of  Congress, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  167,  note.  In 
Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Huguenots,  The,  settle  in  South  Carolina,  65.  Introduce 
the  custom  of  New  Year's  calls  in  New  York,  214. 

Huntingdon,  Benjamin,  of  Connecticut,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Huntington,  Governor,  his  reception  of  Washington,  1S3. 

Humphreys,  William,  one  of  the  subscribers  for  the 
Philadelphia  dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13.  Mrs. 
William  II.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles,"  in 
1757, 13. 

, Colonel  David,  146,  148,  156.  Attends  Washing- 


ton on  his  way  to  New  York,  125;  and  to  Rhod( 
Island,  227.  Is  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  treat 
with  the  Creek  Indians,  224.  Caricature  of,  123, 
note.  American  Minister  at  Lisbon,  328.  His  poem 
on  the  Happiness  of  America,  quoted,  404. 


I. 

Imlay,  William,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Social 
Club,  148,  note. 

Independence,  American,  resolution  to  declare  it,  adopt- 
ed, June  10, 1776,  89.  Acknowledged  by  foreign  na- 
tions, 1.  Declaration  of,  celebrated,  177. 

Hall,  Philadelphia,  48,  217.  Importance  of  the  de- 
liberations held  in,  48.  Notices  of  the  members  of 
the  Convention  held  in,  48—76. 

Indians , Creek  confederacy  of,  negotiations  with,  223. 

Ingersoll,  Joseph  R.,  of  Philadelphia,  his  house,  15 
note  *. 

, Mrs.,  her  boarding-house  in  Court  street,  Boston, 

189.  Washington  engages  lodgings  there,  189. 

, Miss  Bertha,  her  letter  to  Miss  McKean,  and  ac- 
count of  the  throng  at  the  Inauguration  of  Washing- 
ton, 137. 

Inglis  family,  of  Philadelphia,  its  standing,  12.  Now  rep- 
resented in  the  female  line,  13,  note*. 

, John,  one  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Philadelphia 

dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13.  Mrs.  I.,  one  of  the 
Philadelphia  “belles,”  in  1757,  13. 

Insurrection  in  Pennsylvania,  353,  354. 

Iredell,  James,  of  North  Carolina,  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  181.  Anec- 
dote of  his  admiration  of  Fisher  Ames’s  eloquence, 
363.  Is  present  at  Adams’s  inauguration,  419. 

Irving,  Washington,  his  recollections  of  Washington’s 
inauguration,  142. 

Irwin,  General,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Isard,  Ralph,  of  South  Carolina,  U.  S.  Senator,  119.  A 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  at  Wash 
ingtou’s  Inauguration,  139.  Dines  with  Washington, 
164 ; is  with  him  at  the  Charleston  corporation-ball 
(1791),  835.  Visits  London,  Paris,  and  Florence,  172. 
Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note.  His  place 
of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note.  Dislocates  his 
arm,  831,  note.  Notice  of,  172. 

Izard , Alice  DeLancey,  wife  of  Ralph,  portraits  of,  by 
Gainsborough  and  Copley,  172,  173.  Notice  of  her, 
172. 

J. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  Member  of  Congress,  votes  against  re- 
solutions complimentary  to  Washington,  417. 

, General  James,  of  Georgia,  Member  of  Congress, 

his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  167,  note.  Re- 
ception of  Washington  by,  at  Savannah,  337. 

, Major  William,  one  of  Washington's  private  secre- 
taries, 183, 187,  1S8.  Is  a connection  of  the  celebrated 
Mrs.  Bingham,  301.  Attends  Washington  in  his 
Eastern  Tour,  188 ; in  his  Tour  to  Rhode  Island,  227 ; 
and  in  his  Southern  Tour,  830.  336.  His  walks  with 
Washington  at  Philadelphia,  865. 

Jacobins  and  Jacobinism,  850, 352,  357. 

James,  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Janeway  family,  of  New  York,  tories,  their  residence  in 
Wall  street,  81,  note  t. 

Jaudennes,  Don  Felipe,  Minister  from  Spain,  3SS.  He 
and  his  lady  dine  (April  2,  ’95)  with*Washington,  8S7 
Her  diamonds,  888.  Ho  is  succeeded  by  Martinez. 
3SS. 

Jay  family,  ofNew  York,  its  high  standing,  97,  203. 


INDEX 


469 


Jay,  John,  of  New  York  (Chief  Justice  of  the  XT.  S.), 
one  of  the  Attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court,  175.  A 
member  of  the  “ Moot  ” Club,  148,  note.  One  of  the  au- 
thors of  the  “ Federalist,”  113.  His  remarks  on  pub- 
lic affairs  in  1786,  43.  Vice  President  Adams  con- 
ducted to  the  house  of  (1789),  123.  Takes  part  in  the 
reception  (17S9)  of  Washington  at  New  York,  130. 
Is  present  at  Washington’s  Inauguration,  154  Dines 
with  Washington  (1789),  164 ; with  the  French  Chargd 
d’Affaires,  217.  His  dinner-parties,  96.  Washington 
visits  him  at  his  country-seat,  1S3.  Washington’s 
letter  to  him,  appointing  him  Chief  Justice,  1S1.  He 
prepares  for  the  President  an  elaborate  report,  147. 
Accompanies  Washington  to  Paulus  Hook,  229.  Is 
Envoy  Extraordinary  (1794)  to  the  Court  of  London, 
857.  His  treaty,  357,  360.  Is  burnt  in  effigy  by  the 
Jacobins,  363.  Washington's  letter  to,  on  the  subject 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Insurrection,  353.  His  letter  of 
congratulation  to  Mr.  Bingham,  on  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Willing,  294.  Goes  to  the  theatre  at  Philadel- 
phia with  Mrs.  Eobert  Morris,  373.  Is  present  at  the 
dinner  to  the  Creek  Indians,  225.  Is  called  on  by 
young  John  Quincy  Adams,  78.  Wounded  in  the 
Doctors’  mob,  102,  note  *.  M.  Brissot  and  Mrs.  Colo- 
nel Smith  dine  with,  90,  91.  Vindicated  from  the 
suspicion  of  favoring  kingly  and  aristocratic  institu- 
tions, 221.  Notices  of,  by  Brissot, -89;  by  Mrs.  Colo- 
nel Smith,  91,  92;  and  by  the  author,  373,  note. 
Trumbull’s  portrait  of,  410. 

, Mrs.,  her  social  position,  97.  Her  Invitation  List, 

98,  note.  A daughter  of  Governor  William  Living- 
ston, 97.  Letters  of,  to  her  husband,  373,  note.  Ex- 
tract from  one  of  the  letters  of,  to  her  mother,  98.  Is 
present  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156 ; and  at  Hamil- 
ton's oration  on  General  Greene,  173.  Notices  oil  by 
Miss  Adams,  98 ; by  Mrs.  Colonel  Smith,  92 ; by  Ma- 
dame Lafayette,  98 ; an<^  by  the  author,  373,  note. 

, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Iuvitation 

List,  99,  note. 

Jefferson , Thomas,  of  Virginia  (afterward  President  of  tho 
United  States),  is  sent  to  France  to  supply  the  place 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  78.  Marie  Antoinette  speaks  to  him 
of  Miss  Vining,  21,  note  *.  Is  appointed,  by  Washing- 
ton, to  the  post  of  Secretary  of  State,  180,  219.  Ar- 
rives (Nov.  1790)  from  France,  218 ; and  is  cordially 
received  by  Washington,  220.  His  disagreatle  jour- 
ney to  New  York,  219.  Correction  of  his  account  of 
Washington’s  levees,  150,  151.  Goes  with  Washing- 
ton to  Ehode  Island,  227 ; and  with  Madison  (1791)  on 
a tour  to  Vermont,  340.  Ilis  vindication  of  the  dem- 
ocrats, 375.  Is  the  patron  of  Freneau,  235,  344,  345, 
349,  note;  and  intimate  friend  of  Genet,  851,  note. 
Favors  the  French  Revolution,  396.  Opposes  Wash- 
ington, 396 ; and,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Fre- 
neau, calumniates  him,  345.  Offers  to  Colonel  Trum- 
bull the  mission  to  the  Barbary  States,  396.  Colonel 
T.’s  description  of  a dinner-party  given  by,  396.  Is 
present  at  the  dinner  given  to  tho  Creek  Indians, 
225.  His  conversation  with  Washington,  relativo  to 
Randolph,  356 ; and  letter  to  him,  urging  him  to  serve, 
as  President,  a second  term,  341.  Anecdote  of,  in  re- 
lation to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government,  233. 
Correction  of  his  account  of  the  Inauguration  Ball. 

’ 156, 157.  His  letters  to  Madame  de  Brehan,  93 ; and 
Madame  d’Houdetot,  219.  His  admiration  of  Mrs. 
Bingham,  and  account  of  fashionable  life  in  Paris, 
298,  and  note.  His  letter  to  his  daughter  Martha, 
who  marries  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  218,  219,  note. 
The  granddaughter  of,  marries  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  218, 
note. 

Jephson,  Mrs.,  her  beautiful  rural  residence,  168. 

Jewels,  few,  worn  in  the  U.  S.,  in  1789,  155,  note. 


Jews,  section  of  the  city  of  New  York  that  was  occupied 
by  them  in  1783,  30,  note. 

Jeykell,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fanny,  among  the  “belles  and 
dames”  of  Philadelphia,  in  1757,  13,  note. 

Johnson,  Dr.  William  Samuel,  of  Connecticut,  delegate 
to  the  “ Convention,”  52.  An  Episcopalian,  52.  U. 
S.  Senator,  166,  note.  His  place  of  residence  in  New 
York,  166,  note.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99. 
note.  Notice  of,  52. 

Johnston,  Lieutenant  General  Sir  Henry,  marries  Re- 
becca, daughter  of  David  Franks,  of  Philadelphia,  27. 

Jones,  Dr.,  a popular  New  York  physician,  177. 

, Edward,  one  of  the  subscribers  for  the  Philadel- 
phia dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13,  note. 

, Chevalier  John  Paul,  and  Mrs.  S.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s 

Invitation  List,  99,  note. 


E. 

Kalb,  Baron  de,  Washington  visits  the  grave  of,  338. 

Kean,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Kearsley,  John,  Jr.,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia 
dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13. 

Kelly,  Henry,  of  New  York,  a member  of  tho  Social 
Club,  148,  note. 

Kemble  family,  the  residence  of,  at  New  York,  30,  note. 

, Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Kennedy,  Captain  Archibald,  R.  N.,  (afterward  Earl  of 
Cassilis,)  28,  note'i.  His  house  at  New  York,  destroy- 
ed by  the  great  fire,  September  21,  1776,  28,  note  t. 

Kent,  James  (afterward  Chancellor),  of  New  York,  one  of 
the  attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court,  175. 

, Duke  of,  brother  of  William  IV.,  in  tho  TJ.  S., 

387. 

Kenyon  family,  of  New  York,  place  of  residence  of,  in 
the  city,  33,  note. 

Kidd,  John,  a subscriber  to  the  Philadelphia  dancing  as- 
sembly, in  1748,  13,  note. 

Kings  (now  Columbia)  College,  New  York  City,  7. 

King,  Rufus,  delegate  to  the  “ Convention,”  4S.  One  of 
Sullivan’s  aids,  in  1778,  48.  Marries  Mary,  daughter 
of  John  Alsop,  30,  note,  99, 100.  John  Adams's  letter 
to,  on  the  occasion,  100.  Social  position  of  the  family 
of,  91,  99,  and  note.  Character  and  personal  appear- 
ance of,  48,  52,  89.  His  place  of  residence,  30, 100. 

King,  Mrs.  Rufus,  character  and  personal  beauty  of,  100. 

Kissam,  Dr.,  a popular  physician  at  New  York,  177.  He 
and  Mrs.  K.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Knox,  General  Henry,  embraced  by  Washington,  at  his 
farewell  to  the  army  officers,  3.  Washington's  letter 
to,  relative  to  the  delay  of  his  certificate  of  election, 
124.  Participates  in  the  reception  (1789)  of  the  Pre- 
sident, at  New  York,  130,  131.  Present  at  the  In- 
auguration and  the  ball,  140, 154  Appointed  Secre- 
tary of  War,  147, 180.  Is  at  the  dinner  given  to  the 
Creek  Indians,  225.  An  intimate  friend  of  Roche- 
foucauld, 385.  His  brilliant  conversation,  172.  Vili- 
fied by  Freneau,  344.  Vindicated  from  the  suspicion 
of  a predilection  for  kingly  institutions,  221.  Resigns 
his  office,  356.  With  Mrs.  K.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invita- 
tion List,  99,  note.  Residence  of,  at  New  York, 
172. 

, Mrs.,  not  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  157.  She  is 

one  of  the  most  intimate  friends  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
164,  337.  Her  removal  to  Philadelphia,  251;  and 
presence  at  the  first  levee  there,  326.  Personal  ap- 
pearance, and  character  of,  91,  95, 172,  393. 

Kolch,  The,  or  Fresh  Water  Pond,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  33.  Account  of  the  neighborhood,  33. 

Kosciusko,  at  the  house  of  Gen.  Gates,  889.  Rochefou- 
cauld’s notice  of,  389,  390. 


470 


INDEX. 


Kunzie,  Eev.  Dr.  John  Christopher,  pastor  of  the  United 
Lutheran  Church,  at  New  York,  in  1789, 138,  mote. 
His  place  of  residence,  166,  note.  Notice  of,  176,  and 
note. 

1. 

Ladd,  Dr.,  the  poet,  405,  407. 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  brother-in-law  of  Viscount  de 
Noailles,  388.  Washington’s  letter  to,  in  1784,  34  A 
guest  at  Mount  Vernon,  August,  1784,  34.  His  affect- 
ing leave  of  W.,  35.  His  meeting  with  Miss  Temple, 
10,  note*.  Entertains  Mrs.  Bingham,  295.  Visits 
Mrs.  Hancock,  192,  note.  He  and  Eochefoucauld 
second  Mirabeau's  motion,  that  the  National  Assem- 
bly of  France  wear  mourning  for  Franklin,  223. 
Washington’s  anxiety  on  account  of  the  imprison- 
ment of,  390,  391.  Bollman’s  attempt  to  liberate, 
389. 

, George,  W.  L.,  in  America,  390,  421. 

La  Forest,  M.  de,  the  French  Consul,  and  Mrs.  L.,  97. 

Laidlaw,  Mr.  C.,  and  Mrs.,  99,  note. 

Lamartine,  his  remarks  on  Brissot,  85,  note. 

Lamb  family,  of  New  York,  81. 

Langdon,  John,  of  Now  Hampshire,  delegate  to  the 
“ Convention,”  49.  Agent,  in  New  Hampshire,  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  50.  Military  exploits  of,  49. 
U.  8.  Senator,  119,  195,  196,  197.  His  place  of  resi- 
dence in  New  York,  166,  note.  Notice  of,  49.  Mrs. 
L.,  156, 164. 

Laivsdowne,  Marquis  of,  commends  Talleyrand  to  Wash- 
ington, 3S0,  381.  Mr.  Bingham  sends  a full-length 
portrait  of  Washington  to,  411,  412. 

Lansing , James,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  Attorneys  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  175. 

Laurens,  Miss  Mary,  marries  Charles  Pinckney,  104 

Lauznn , Duke  de,  his  opinion  of  the  women  of  Philadel- 
phia, 291. 

Law,  Mrs.,  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  111. 

Lawrence  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12.  John,  in  1748,  13, 
note.  Mrs.,  Miss  Molly,  and  Miss  Kitty,  in  1757,  13, 
note.  T.,  senior,  and  T.,  junior,  ib. 

, John,  of  New  York,  an  eminent  lawyer,  99,  note, 

110.  Member  of  Congress,  166,  note.  His  residence, 
ib. 

Lear,  Tobias,  Washington’s  private  secretary,  146,  183, 
188,  196.  W.’s  letters  to,  respecting  the  removal 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  238 ; a wine-cooler, 
246 ; a coachman,  247 ; horses,  337.  His  walks  with 
W.,  365,  366.  Jefferson  refers  to,  375.  Mrs.  Lear, 
250. 

Lee,  Arthur,  99,  note,  130. 

, Governor  Henry,  of  Virginia,  Washington's  letter 

to,  on  the  Pennsylvania  insurrection,  353. 

, Eichard  Bland,  of  Virginia,  Member  of  Congress, 

167,  note.  His  residence  in  New  York,  167,  note. 
Uncle  of  John  Eandolph,  208. 

, Eichard  Henry  (President  of  Congress),  78.  U.  S. 

Senator,  119, 166,  note.  Member  of  the  Committee 
on  the  Iuauguration,  139.  Eemarks  on,  by  John 
Quincy  Adams,  79.  In  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note.  His  son  Thomas  marries  Mildred,  daughter  of 
Augustine  Washington,  105. 

, William,  Washington's  servant,  239, 

, Mrs.,  daughter  of  Eev.  Dr.  Buckminster,  her  me- 
moir of  him,  quoted,  196. 

Leech,  Miss  Mary,  marries  Eichard  D.  Spaight,  105.  No- 
tice of,  105. 

Leney,  Joshua,  of  Maryland,  marries  Miss  Nicholson, 
103. 

Leonard,  George,  of  Massachusetts,  Member  of  Congress, 
his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 


Levees,  of  Mrs.  Washington,  at  New  York,  165,  215;  and 
at  Philadelphia,  826. 

Lewis,  Francis,  of  New  York,  member  of  the  Social 
Club,  148,  note. 

, Morgan  (afterwards  Governor  of  New  York),  one 

of  the  attorneys  of  the  Supreme  Court,  175.  Member 
of  the  Social  Club,  148,  note.  Takes  a prominent 
part  in  the  Constitution  celebration,  110 ; and  the 
Inauguration  festival,  139.  He  and  Mrs.  L.  in  Mrs. 
Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Mrs.,  sister  of  Washington,  179,  361. 

Liancourt.  See  Rochefoucauld. 

Lincoln,  General,  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  negotiato 
with  the  Creek  Indians,  224 

Linn,  Eev.  Dr.  Wm.,  of  New  York,  138,  note,  175.  No- 
tice of,  175,  176.  John  Blair  L.,  son  of,  176. 

Lispenard , Leonard  and  Anthony,  members  of  tbe  Social 
Club,  148,  note. 

Liston,  Mr.,  British  Minister,  387,  400.  He  and  Mrs.  L. 
at  Washington's  farewell  dinner,  418,  419. 

Livermore , Samuel,  New  Hampshire,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, his  place  of  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Livingston  family,  of  New  York,  their  standing  and  re- 
sidence, 31,  note.*,  204. 

{ Edward,  of  Now  York,  one  of  the  Attorneys  of  the 

Supreme  Court,  175.  Marries  Mary  Mclvers,  104 

, John,  and  Henry,  of  New  York,  members  of  the 

Social  Club,  148,  note. 

, Eev.  Dr.  John  H.,  of  New  York,  Pastor  of  the 

Eeformed  Dutch  Church  (1789),  138,  note,  175. 

, John  E.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Peter  Van  Brugh,  Mrs.,  sister  of  Lord  Sterling, 

Washington  dances  with,  156. 

, Philo,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Eobert  Cambridge,  the  widow  of,  marries  the 

British  Colonel  Crawford,  32,  note  *. 

, Eobert  E.  (afterward  Chancellor  of  the  State  of 

New  York),  one  of  the  Attorneys  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  175.  Member  of  the  Moot  and  of  the  Social 
Club,  148,  note.  Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note.  Administers  to  Washington  his  oath  of  office, 
140, 141.  Is  present  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  154 
His  residence,  146.  Mrs.  L.  pays  her  compli- 

ments to  Mrs.  Washington. 

, Walter,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury, 

130. 

, William,  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  delegate  from 

New  Jersey  to  the  “ Convention,”  54.  Attempt 
(1779)  of  British  troops  to  capture  him,  54,  note.  His 
mansion,  “Liberty  Hall,”  54.  His  remarks  on  fash- 
ionable life  in  New  York,  S3.  Extract  from  his  let- 
ter (August,  1779)  to  his  daughter  Catherine,  4,  note. 
His  daughter  Sarah  Van  Brugh  marries  John  Jay  ; 
Susan  marries  John  Cleve  Symmes;  Catherine  mar- 
ries Matthew  Eidley ; and  Judith  marries  John  W. 
Watkins,  97.  Character  and  appearance  of,  54. 

Livingston,  Mrs.  Judge  (Brockholst),  and  Misses  Maria 
and  Eliza,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Lloyd  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11. 

Logan  family,  of  Philadelphia,  its  high  standing,  11. 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  his  mansion  at  Cambridge,  for- 
merly Washington’s  head-quarters,  186,  note. 

Lossing,  Benson  J.,  his  Field  Book  of  the  Eevolution  re- 
ferred to,  331,  note. 

Louis  XIV.,  folly  of,  in  revoking  the  edict  of  Nantes,  65. 

Louis  XVI.,  of  France,  Mrs.  Bingham  at  the  Court  of, 
294.  A bust  of,  in  the  house  of  Washington,  850. 
Presents  to  Congress  “full-length  portraits  of  the 
King  and  Qeeen  of  France,”  122.  • 

Louis  rhilippe,  d’Orleans,  in  America,  3S6,  3S7.  Notice 
of,  ib.  Is  joined  by  two  of  his  brothers,  3S6.  One  of 
the  visitors  of  Miss  Vining,  at  Wilmington,  21,  note  * 


INDEX 


471 


Louther,  Miss,  marries  John  Page,  M.  C.,  of  Virginia,  102. 

loyalists , character  of,  in  1775,  16.  Extracts  from  a poem 
by  one,  17 — 19. 

Ludlow  family,  of  New  York,  tories,  residences  of,  30, 
note  *,  31,  note  t.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniel,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s 
Invitation  List,  99,  note.  Daniel,  George,  and  Wil- 
liam, members  of  the  Social  Club,  148,  note. 

Luzerne,  Chevalier  de  la,  his  festival  at  Philadelphia,  in 
honor  of  the  Dauphin,  19.  Account  of  the  dancing- 
room,  fireworks,  company,  and  supper,  on  the  occa- 
sion, 19 — 21.  A dinner  at  the  house  of,  described  by 
Chastellux,  434.  Public  dinner  (1783)  to,  given  by 
Gov.  Clinton,  2.  An  American  officer’s  description 
of  Washington  at  this  dinner,  3,  note.  Marbois,  Secre- 
tary of  Legation  under,  81,  note.  Washington’s  fare- 
well letter  to  (1784),  83. 

Lynch,  Mrs.  Dominick,  156, 164. 

, Thomas,  of  South  Carolina,  a representative  at  the 

Congress  of  1765,  72. 

M, 

McCall  family,  of  Philadelphia,  294.  Archibald,  George, 
Samuel,  sen.,  and  Samuel,  jun.,  subscribers  for  the 
Phila.  dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13.  The  mansion 
of  Archibald  McC.,  299.  Mrs.  Lydia,  and  Misses 
Molly,  Peggy,  and  Nelly  McC.,  among  the  “belles 
and  dames  ” of  Philadelphia  in  1757,  13. 

McComb  family,  of  New  York,  164,  168.  Washington  oc- 
cupies the  commodious  house  of  Mr.  McC.,  in  Broad- 
way, 168. 

McCormick,  Daniel,  his  bachelor’s  hall  in  Wall  street, 
New  York,  31.  The  friend  of  Col.  Wm.  S.  Smith,  91. 

Me  Gillie  ray,  a celebrated  Indian  Chief,  notice  of,  223, 
225. 

McHenry,  of  Maryland,  a delegate  to  the  “ Convention,” 
67. 

Mcllvaine,  David  and  William,  subscribers  for  the  Phila- 
delphia dancing  assembly  (1748),  13.  Mrs.  McL,  one 
of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757, 13. 

McIntosh,  General,  with  Washington  at  Charleston  and 
Savannah,  337. 

Mclvers,  Mary,  marries  Edward  Livingston,  104. 

McKean  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12,  328. 

, Thomas,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  takes 

part  in  the  “ Constitution  Celebration,”  106.  His  con- 
versation with  Madison,  on  the  official  title  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate,  153. 

, Sally  (afterward  Marchioness  d’Yrujo),  137,  note. 

Daughter  of  Chief  Justice  McK.,  388.  Miss  Inger- 
soll’s  letter  to,  on  the  Inauguration,  137.  Her  re- 
marks on  Mrs.  Washington’s  first  levee  at  Phila.,  326. 
Marries  Don  Carlos  Martinez,  Marquis  d’Yrujo,  389. 
Notice  of,  389.  Her  son's  eminence,  ib. 

Me  Tarnish,  Mrs.,  of  Baltimore,  daughter  of  Kichard  Caton 
and  widow  of  the  British  consul,  209,  note  *. 

Macaulay,  Catherine,  Washington’s  letter  to,  248. 

Mackimen  family,  of  Philadelphia,  13,  note.  Robert  M., 
one  of  the  subscribers  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Maclay,  William,  of  Pennsylvania,  U.  S.  Senator  (17S9), 
his  residence  in  New  York,  166,  note. 

Macubbin,  Mrs.  James,  with  Washington  opens  (Dec.  20, 
’83)  a ball  at  Annapolis,  4,  and  note. 

Maddox  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12. 

Madison,  James,  of  Virginia  (afterwards  President  of  the 
U.  S.),  delegate  to  the  “Convention,”  69.  One  of  the 
authors  of  the  “Federalist,”  113.  Member  of  Con- 
gress, 119,  222.  Was  a fellow  student  of  Freneau,  235. 
His  tour  with  Jefferson,  840.  His  conversation  with 
J udge  McKean,  on  the  official  title  of  the  Chief  Magis- 


trate, 153.  Marries  Mrs.  Todd  (Dolly  Payne,  the 
Quakeress),  395.  Character  and  personal  appearance 
of,  69.  Is  commended  by  Brissot,  89.  His  sister  mar- 
ries Robert  Rose.  His  place  of  residence  in  New 
York,  166,  note. 

Mails,  measures  by  the  government,  for  the  transmission 
of,  117,  note. 

Maland  family,  13,  note  *.  John  M.,  a subscriber  for  the 
Philadelphia  dancing  assembly  (1748),  13. 

Malbone,  Edward  G.,  miniature  painter,  412. 

Mandrillon,  Joseph,  his  description  of  Washington’s  per- 
sonal appearance,  429. 

Mansion,  House,  the  residence  of  William  Bingham,  at 
Philadelphia,  297.  Its  arrangement  and  decorations, 
800. 

Manufactures,  domestic,  Washington  clothed  in,  on  his 
Inauguration,  140 ; on  the  opening  of  the  second  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  217 ; and  Mrs.  Washington  at  Balti- 
more, 161. 

Marbois,  M.  Barbe  (afterward  Marquis  de),  French 
Charge  d’affaires,  81,  299.  Washington’s  kind  regard 
for,  83.  Marries  Miss  Moore,  of  Philadelphia,  sister 
of  Col.  Moore,  81,  note,  300.  Washington’s  letter  to, 
on  the  occasion,  82,  note.  Notices  of,  81,  note,  82. 
His  daughter,  wife  of  the  Duke  de  Plaisance,  82,  note. 
Superseded  by  Louis  Wm.  Otto,  82,  83. 

Marie  Antoinette,  converses  with  Mr.  Jefferson  respect- 
ing Miss  Vining,  21,  note*.  Revolting  picture  of, 
displayed  as  a sign,  351. 

Marks,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  Fanny,  in  the  list  (1757)  of  Phila- 
delphia “ belles  and  dames,”  13. 

Marriages , mode  of  conducting,  in  New  England,  in 
1787,  47. 

Marshall,  Christopher,  his  diary  quoted,  163. 

•,  Miss  M.,  marries  Dr.  Caspar  Wistar,  104 

Marston  family  of  New  York,  tories,  their  residence,  31, 
note  t.  Mr.  J.  M.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note. 

Martin,  Luther,  of  Maryland,  delegate  to  the  “Conven- 
tion,” 66.  Notice  of,  66. 

, Governor  of  North  Carolina,  his  translation  of  Sir 

William  Draper’s  Latin  lines  at  Governor  Tryon’s 
“palace,”  331,  note. 

Martinez.  See  Yrvgo. 

Maryland,  State  of,  ratifies  (1778)  the  “Constitution," 
105. 

Gazette,  a newspaper  published  at  Annapolis,  de- 
scribes Washington’s  farewell  to  Congress,  6. 

Mason,  Rev.  John,  of  New  York,  138,  note,  176. 

, Rev.  John  M.,  the  great  pulpit  orator,  176. 

, Mr.,  Mrs.,  and  Mr.  jr.,  of  New  York,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s 

Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Mr.,  of  Virginia,  U.  S.  Senator,  furnishes  a copy 

of  Jay’s  treaty,  for  publication  in  Bache’s  “ Aurora,” 
357. 

Massachusetts,  appoints  delegates  to  meet  at  Annapolis, 
44  Ratifies  (1788)  the  constitution,  105.  Cultivated 
state  of  society  in,  in  1787,  45. 

Matthews,  George,  of  Georgia,  member  of  Congress  (1789), 
his  residence  in  New  York,  167,  note. 

Max/well,  Mrs.  James  H.,  often  danced  with  Washington, 
156. 

Mayne,  Simon,  maternal  grandfather  of  Anne  Harrison, 
14. 

Mazzei , Philip,  the  correspondent  of  Jefferson,  435.  His 
remarks  on  society  in  Virginia,  435.  Biographical 
notice  of,  ib. 

Mercer,  John,  of  Maryland,  delegate  to  the  “ Convention," 
66.  Notice  of,  ib. 

Meredith,  Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Miffiin  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12. 

, General  Thomas  (afterward  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 


472 


INDEX. 


vania),  a delegate  to  the  “ Convention,”  59.  Presi- 
dent of  Congress,  5.  His  tribute  to  Washington,  ib. 
Is  present  at  the  festival  in  honor  of  the  Dauphin,  21. 
Is  a witness  of  the  proceedings  at  a democratic  dinner, 
350.  Notices  of,  59,  90.  Fennel's  anecdoto  of,  872, 
note. 

Millar,  Miss,  marries  Sir  Peyton  Skipwith,  104, 105. 

Miller,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  of  New  York,  29. 

Mirabeau,  his  eulogy  on  Franklin,  222. 

Miranda,  Gen.,  his  polite  notice  of  Miss  Yining,  21,  note. 

Mitchell,  Dr.  Samuel  Latham  of  New  York,  story  of  his 
causing  the  destruction  of  the  city’s  trees,  227.  Mr.  M. 
in  the  Invitation  List  of  Mrs.  Jay,  99,  note. 

Monroe,  James,  Minister  to  France,  412.  His  opinion  of 
the  people  of  Philadelphia,  251. 

, Peter  Jay,  Mrs.,  dowager  Lady  Hayes,  210,  note. 

Montpensier,  Due  de,  brother  of  Louis  Philippe,  in 
America,  386,  8S7. 

Montgomery,  Mrs.  (of  New  York),  widow  of  General 
Richard  M.,  in  the  first  circles  of  society,  91,  98,  note, 
164.  At  the  Inauguration  Bali,  156. 

, Miss,  her  description  of  Miss  Yining,  21,  note*. 

Her  account  of  the  journey  from  Wilmington  to  New 
York,  119 ; and  of  a wedding  at  the  Rutgers  Mansion, 
102,  note  t. 

Moor  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11. 

, Andrew,  of  Virginia,  member  of  Congress,  167, 

note. 

, Rev.  (afterward  Right  Rev.)  Benjamin,  one  of  the 

New  York  clergy  in  1789,  138,  note. 

, John,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Social  Club, 

148,  note. 

■,  Colonel  Thomas  Lloyd,  of  Philadelphia,  298,  299. 

M.  Marbois  marries  the  sister  of,  81,  299. 

Moot,  The,  a club  at  New  York,  148,  note. 

Moravians.  See  Bethlehem. 

Morrill,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  one  of  the 
clergy  of  New  York  in  1789,  138,  note. 

Morris  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11 ; and  of  New  York, 
31,  note  *. 

, Gouverneur,  of  New  York,  an  Attorney  of  the 

Supreme  Court,  175.  Member  of  the  Moot  Club,  and 
the  Social  Club,  148,  note.  His  style  of  living,  395. 
J.  Q.  Adams's  description  of  a dinner  party  given  by, 
■ib.  Delegate  to  the  “ Convention,”  57.  Notice  of,  58. 

Morris,  Robert,  of  Philadelphia,  the  financier,  delegate 
to  the  “Convention,”  57.  Supplies  ordnance  and  am- 
munition for  the  army,  ib.  Business  partner  of  Mr. 
Willing,  255.  Senator  of  the  U.  S.,  1789,  166,  note. 
His  sumptuous  dinners,  327.  Ilis  part  in  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  government  to  Philadelphia,  234;  and 
to  the  District  of  Columbia,  233.  The  patron  of  Pine, 
the  painter,  408.  Is  caricatured,  233.  Notice  of,  57. 

, Mrs.  Robert,  entertains  Mrs.  Washington,  162. 

Accompanies  her  to  New  York,  163.  Notable  for  her 
family  arrangements,  245.  With  John  Jay  at  the 
theatre,  317. 

Morton,  Mrs.,  of  Boston,  wife  of  the  Attorney  General  of 
Massachusetts,  405.  Her  character  and  poetic  writings, 
9,  406,  407. 

Moultrie,  General,  of  South  Carolina,  Washington  dines 
at  the  house  of,  in  Charleston,  836. 

Mount  Desert,  Maine,  said  to  be  the  birth-place  of  Tal- 
leyrand, 381. 

Mount  Vernon,  6,  86,  228,  839. 

Moustier,  Marquis  de,  French  Minister,  illumination  of 
his  house,  on  occasion  of  the  Inauguration,  145, 157. 
His  ball  in  honor  of  the  President,  157, 158.  Dines 
with  Washington,  164.  Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation 
List,  99,  note.  Notice  of,  83,  note,  92. 

Muhlenberg,  Frederick  Augustus,  of  Pennsylvania 
(Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives),  Member 


of  Congress  (1789),  119,  164, 166,  note.  Boards  at  New 
York,  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kunzie,  176,  note*. 

, General  Peter,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Con- 
gress (1789),  note.  Letter  to,  from  Dr.  Rush,  on  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Philadelphia, 
232.  His  remarks  and  vote,  on  the  official  title  of  the 
President,  153, 154. 

Music  in  America,  remarks  on,  by  Brissot,  10;  and  by 
Chastcllux,  434. 

N. 

Mantes,  edict  of,  the  folly  of  Louis  XIY.  in  revoking  it, 
65. 

Napoleon,  Cerrachi  is  put  to  death  for  attempting  to  as- 
sassinate, 410.  His  tribute  to  Washington,  140. 

Nassau  Nall,  (College  of  New  Jersey),  7,  231,  344,  854. 

National  Gazette,  a journal  edited  by  Freneau,  344,  345, 
848. 

National  Assembly  of  France,  resolves  to  wear  mourning 
for  Franklin,  223. 

National  Bank.  See  Bank  National. 

Neutrality,  address  commending  Washington's  procla- 
mation of,  349,  350. 

New  England,  characteristic  traits  of  the  character,  in- 
tellectual and  social,  of  the  people,  45,  65,  66.  Habits, 
manners,  dress,  45,  46.  Washington’s  tour  to,  183. 

New  Hampshire,  appoints  delegates  to  meet  at  Annapo- 
lis, 44  Ratifies  (1788)  the  Constitution,  105.  Presi- 
dent and  Council  of,  give  a dinner  to  Washington, 
197. 

New  Haven,  Connecticut,  presents  John  Adams  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city,  123. 

New  Jersey,  sends  delegates  to  Annapolis,  43.  Ratifies 
the  Constitution,  105.  College  of,  see  Nassau  HaU. 

New  Year's  Calls,  the  custom  of  making,  introduced  by 
the  Dutch  and  the  Huguenots,  214.  Washington's  re- 
mark on  the  custom,  216. 

New  York,  State  of,  sends  Commissioners  to  Annapolis, 
43.  Ratifies  the  Constitution,  112. 

City,  the  seat  of  government,  203,  231.  Evacuated 

(1783)  by  the  British,  2.  Dr.  Duer’s  particular  de- 
scription of  its  appearance,  at  that  time,  27,  ss.  Rava- 
ges of  the  great  fire  in  1776,  28,  note*.  Account  of, 
in  1783,  86.  Dr.  Belknap's  journey  from,  to  Phila- 
delphia, 116, 117, 119.  Rapid  increase  of  its  popula- 
tion and  prosperity,  7. — Social  refinement  of,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution,  7 ; and  In  1789,  203. 
Topographical  condition,  in  1788,  102,  and  note  t. 
Commercial  prosperity,  in  1789,  226.  Rates  of  living 
in,  206.  Numerous  weddings  in,  in  1787,  17S8,  102. 
Gayety  and  dissipation  of,  22,  207 ; card-playing,  23; 
costume,  24,  25 ; light  behavior,  23,  24 ; the  theatre, 
213.  State  of  religion,  207.  J.  Q.  Adams’s  remarks 
on  life  in,  79,  80.  New  Year’s  Calls,  214  Absurd 
conduct  of  the  Mayor  and  Corporation,  in  cutting 
down  trees,  226,  227.  Reception  of  the  President,  133. 
Principal  streets  of,  166,  note,  167,  note.  Prospects 
of,  7. 

Niagara  Falls,  visited  by  Louis  Philippe  and  brothers, 
387. 

Nicholson,  Commodore,  110,  111,  130. 

Niemceuicz,  the  poet,  Rochefoucauld’s  notice  of,  8S9, 890. 

Noailles,  Yiscount  de,  comes  to  America,  in  1793,  378. 
Brother-in-law  of  Lafayette,  378.  Attends  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington's drawing-room,  ib.  The  story  of  his  being 
closeted  with  the  President,  ib.  His  proposed  settle- 
ment on  the  Susquehanna,  ib.  An  entertainment 
at  his  unpretending  quarters  in  Philadelphia,  879. 

Norris  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11. 

North,  Major  Wm.,  of  New  York,  99,  note,  110. 

North  Carolina,  appoints  delegates  to  meet  at  Annapo- 


INDEX. 


473 


lis,  44.  Accepts  the  Constitution.  217.  State  of  so- 
ciety in,  64.  “Scotch  Irish  ” population  of,  64. 

Korthey , a Quaker,  of  Salem,  Mass.,  his  characteristic 
Salutation  of  Washington,  194. 

0. 

Ogden , Rev.  Mr.,  of  Queen’s  Chapel,  Boston,  196. 

, Miss,  a celebrated  beauty,  notice  of,  SO. 

Ogsbury,  Francis,  hardware  and  fancy  shop  of,  30. 

Oldmixon,  Sir  John,  the  Bath  beau,  his  reverse  of  for- 
tune, 373.  Lady  O.,  formerly  Miss  George,  is  a player 
on  the  Philadelphia  stage,  373. 

Osburn,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  13. 

Osgood,  Samuel,  of  New  York  (Postmaster-General), 
1S1.  Prepares,  the  house  at  New  York,  intended  for 
the  occupation  of  President,  167,  Standing  of  his 
family,  99 ; note,  203.  One  of  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Treasury,  130.  Postmaster-General,  181.  Genet 
marries  his  daughter,  352,  note. 

Oswald,  Mrs.,  and  Misses  Peggy,  Betty,  and  Molly,  among 
the  Philadelphia  “belles  and  dames,”  of  1757,  13. 
Mrs.  0.,  one  of  the  elite,  23, 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  of  Massachusetts,  son  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  393.  Marries  (1790)  Sally 
Foster,  393.  Member  of  Congress  (1797),  ib. 

, Mrs.  Harrison  Gray,  her  beauty,  &c.,  393. 

James,  of  Boston,  8, 191.  Mrs.  Mercy  Warren,  his 

sister,  199. 

• , Samuel  A.,  of  Boston,  Secretary  of  the  Senate, 

146, 166,  note.  Mrs.,  notice  of,  393, 

Otto,  Louis  Guillaume  (afterward  Comte  de  Mosloy) 
French  Charge  d'affaires,  supersedes  Marbois,  83. 
Character  and  domestic  connections  of,  93,  94,  note, 
99,  note. 

Oxford,  young  Americans,  scholars  at,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolution,  7. 

P. 

Paca,  Governor,  accompanies  Washington  (1783)  on  his 
way  from  Annapolis  to  Mount  Vernon,  6. 

Page,  John,  of  Virginia,  Member  of  Congress,  153,  166, 
note.  Marries  Miss  Lowther,  102.  His  favorable 
opinion  of  the  morality  of  New  York,  232. 

Paine,  Robert  Treat,  his  poetical  epistle  to  Mrs.  Morton, 
quoted,  406,  407.  An  imitator  of  Merry,  351. 

, Thomas,  J.  Q.  Adams  dines  with,  82.  His  insult- 
ing public  letter  to  Washington,  416. 

Painting  and  painters  in  America,  account  of,  407 — 412. 

Parker,  Josiah,  of  Virginia,  Member  of  Congress  (1789), 
166,  note. 

Partridge,  George,  of  Mass.,  Member  of  Congress  (17S9), 
166,  note 

Pasquin,  Anthony  (John  Williams),  driven  from  Eng- 
land to  America,  405. 

Patterson,  Wm.,  of  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  Senator,  166,  note. 

Patterson,  Robert,  of  Baltimore,  a wealthy  merchant, 
marries  the  eldest  daughter  of  Richard  Caton,  209, 
note  *. 

Payne,  Dolly,  marries  Mr.  Todd,  a Quaker,  395.  Is  a 
very  gay  widow,  ib.  Marries  James  Madison,  after- 
ward President  of  the  U.  S.,«6.  Notice  of,  395. 

Peace  with  Great  Britain  (1783),  1. 

Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  of  Philadelphia,  painted  fourteen 
portraits  of  Washington,  411.  His  mezzotint  engrav- 
ing of  Washington,  ib. 

, James,  painted  two  portraits  of  Washington,  411. 

, Rembrandt,  painted  a portrait  of  Washington, 

411. 

Pearsall  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  S3,  note. 

60 


Pemberton  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11. 

Penn,  Wm.,  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  came  to  America 
in  the  “Welcome,”  11.  His  death,  in  1718,  12.  His 
successors  become  churchmen.  12. 

, family,  of  Philadelphia,  loyalists,  16.  Mrs.  P. 

(1783),  one  of  the  elite  of  Philadelphia,  23.  Her  cos- 
tume, 25. 

Pennery,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757, 
13. 

Pennsylvania,  the  founder  of,  comes  to  America  in  the 
“ Welcome,”  11.  Death  (1718)  of  the  founder  of,  12. 
Sends  Commissioners  to  Annapolis,  43.  Ratifies 
(1788)  the  Constitution,  105.  Insurrection  (1794), 
353.  Executive  Council  of,  pass  resolutions  on  the 
death  of  Franklin,  222.  Desires  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  government  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia, 
231.  Considers  (1785)  the  subject  of  licensing  thea- 
tres, 213.  Washington’s  property  in,  360. 

Pennyfaither,  Miss,  one  of  the  “belles,”  in  1757, 13. 

Perkins,  Dr.  Benj.  Douglass,  of  Connecticut,  J.  Adams’s 
account  of  him  and  his  tractors,  403.  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton’s story  of,  403,  404.  His  great  success  in  London, 
404. 

, Thomas  H„  of  Boston,  marries  Sally  Elliot,  104. 

Perry,  Anne,  marries  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  105. 

Peters  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12.  Wm.  P.  and  Richard 
P.,  subscribers  for  the  dancing  assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

, Judge  Richard,  127. 

, Mrs.,  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  421. 

Philadelphia,  distinguished  families  from  Scotland  arrive 
(1740  to  1745)  at,  12.  Subscription  List  of  the  danc. 
ing  assembly  held  (1748)  in,  13.  Dr.  Belknap’s  jour- 
ney to,  116.  Stage-coaches  from  New  York  to,  117, 
note.  The  largest  town  in  America,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  revolution,  11.  Celebrates  (1788)  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  106.  The  metropolis,  301. 
Effects  of  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to, 
237.  Reception  of  Washington  at,  127 ; and  of  Mrs. 
W.,  161.  W.’s  birth-day  celebrated  at,  217.  Emo- 
tion at,  produced  by  the  death  of  Frankliu,  221.  Re- 
ception of  the  Creek  Indians  at  (1790),  224.  The  old 
Congress  insulted  (1783)  by  mutineers,  adjourns  to 
Princeton,  231.  Genet's  reception  at,  348,  349.  Mob, 
on  account  of  Jay’s  treaty,  863.  Freneau’s  charge 
against  the  physicians  of,  370,  note.  Yellow  fever  at 
(1793),  370.  Markets,  238.  Fashionable  shops,  824. 
Women  retailers,  268,  note.  Currency  used  in  trade, 
324,  note.  Rapid  increase  of  the  population  of,  7. 
Social  refinement,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution, 
7,  11,  163,  note.  Celebrated  fetes,  19.  Assembly 
Room,  8.  Theatre,  871.  Pleasure  excursions  to 
Gray’s  Ferry,  162,  note.  Dancing  and  gambling,  327. 
Prodigality,  328.  Fashionable  life  in,  described  by 
Miss  Vining,  22 ; Chastellur,  8 ; Brissot,  85.  Beau- 
jour’s  description  of  the  inhabitants,  11.  Female 
beauties  of,  295.  Women  of,  compared  by  Chastellux 
with  those  of  Boston,  8.  Mrs.  Bingham’s  sway,  203. 
Quakeresses,  324.  Costume  of  the  women  of,  374. 
Brides  for  several  foreign  ministers,  furnished  by, 
383.  Rochefoucauld  publishes  a work  on  the  prisons 
of,  386. 

, Everett  describes  Philadelphia  as  the  home  of 

Washington,  253.  Washington’s  residence  in  Phila- 
delphia, 253.  Description  of  its  society,  253.  City 
Dancing  Assembly,  254.  Adherents  to  the  British 
cause  in,  254.  Graeme  Park,  254.  Ellerslie,  254. 
Loyalist  at  Philadelphia,  lament  of,  254. 

, style  of  life  in,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  255. 

Its  commerce  in  former  days,  255.  Its  city  limits, 
256.  Its  modern  growth,  256.  Residences  of  its  old 
citizens,  256,  257.  Places  of  worship  and  courts  of 
justice,  258.  Philadelphia  costume,  259.  Sect  of 


474 


INDEX. 


Socinus,  259.  Chestnut  street,  260.  "Washington 
Square,  2G0;  its  extent  in  1789,  261. 

Country  around,  263.  Seats,  264.  Place  of  Eob- 
ert  Morris,  264.  Sheriff  of  Philadelphia,  265.  The 
Grange,  265.  Belmont,  265.  Lansdowne,  266.  Wood- 
.ands,  267.  Graeme  Park,  267.  "VVillington,  267. 
Andalusia,  267. 

The  Learned  Professions,  268.  Bishop  White, 
268.  Itobert  Blackwell,  269.  Dr.  James  Abercrom- 
bie, 269.  Christ  Church,  271.  St.  Peter’s,  271. 
Washington's  pew,  271.  Anecdoto  of  Judge  Peters, 
271.  Dr.  William  Smith,  272.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green, 
273.  The  “Old  Buttonwood,”  274.  Dr.  llelmuth, 
275.  Dr.  Eobert  Blackwell,  275.  The  Bar,  277.  Mr. 
Bradford,  277.  Mr.  Edward  Tilghman,  278.  Mr.  In- 
gersoll,  281.  John  Dickinson  Sargeant,  282.  Mr. 
Eawle,  282.  Mr.  Alexander  James  Dallas,  283.  Mr. 
Samuel  Sitgreaves,  283.  Mr.  William  Lewis,  284. 
The  Medical  Profession,  285.  Dr.  Eush,  285.  William 
Shippen,  2S7.  Dr.  Wistar,  2S3.  Philip  S.  Physic, 
290. 

Families  of  Philadelphia,  302.  Mr.  Bingham’s, 
802.  Mrs.  William  Jackson,  302.  Note  on  the  Will- 
ing mansion,  303.  Mrs.  Bradford,  307.  Establish- 
ment of  Eobert  Morris,  308 ; his  wife,  309 ; his  home, 
312;  encouragement  of  the  arts,  312.  Family  of 
Chief  Justice  Chew,  315.  Family  of  Judge  Peters, 
816.  Family  of  Shippen,  317.  Family  of  Bishop 
White,  319.  The  Hamiltons,  320.  Major  Pierce  But- 
ler, 321.  Elias  Boudinot,  322. 

Phillips  family,  of  Philadelphia,  loyalists,  16.  Of  New 
York,  203.  The  family  mansion  of,  30. 

■ , Mrs.  Ilenry,  a great  favorite  with  Washington, 

895. 

Physicians,  popular,  of  New  York,  in  1789, 177.  Flight 
of,  from  Philadelphia,  during  the  yellow  fever,  370, 
note. 

Pickering,  Colonel  Timothy,  Secretary  of  War,  356,  359. 
Washington’s  letter  to,  respecting  M.  d’Yrujo. 

Pierce,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note. 

Pinckney,  Charles,  delegate  from  South  Carolina  to  the 
“Convention,”  74.  Character  and  personal  appear- 
ance of,  74.  Marries  Miss  Mary  Laurens,  104. 

, Charles  Cotes  worth,  delegate  from  South  Carolina 

to  the  “Convention,”  73.  His  military  exploits,  char- 
acter, and  appearance,  73,  74. 

, Mrs.,  of  Charleston,  letter  of,  to  Mrs.  Cushing, 3S7, 

note. 

Pine,  Eobert  Edge,  painter,  visits  America,  408.  His  ob- 
ject, 36,  408.  Portrait  of  Washington  by,  407,  408 ; 
and  of  Garrick,  408.  His  castofthe  Venus  de’  Medici, 
408.  Notice  of  him,  his  wife,  and  daughters,  408. 

Pintard,  Mr.,  Mrs.,  and  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation 
List,  91,  99,  note.  Major  P.,  of  New  York,  123.  John 
P.,  of  New  York,  his  account  of  Washington’s  receiv- 
ing New  Year's  Calls,  214. 

Pitt,  the  elder,  statue  of,  at  New  York,  30. 

Plaisance,  Due  de,  son  of  Lo  Brun,  marries  the  grand- 
daughter of  Mr.  Moore,  of  Philadelphia,  82,  note. 

Platt,  Colonel  Eichard,  Chief  Marshal  at  the  New  York 
“ Constitution-celebration,”  110. 

Plumsted  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12.  Wm.  P.,  a sub- 
scriber for  the  dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13,  note. 
Miss  Betty  P.,  one  of  the  “belles,”  in  1757,  13,  note. 

Poelnitz,  Baron,  takes  part  in  the  New  York  “ Constitu- 
tion-celebration,” 110. 

Politics , reflections  on,  423,  424. 

Polyceen,  James,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  danc- 
ing assembly,  in  1748, 13,  note. 

Ponteves,  Viscount,  the  French  admiral,  reception  of 
Washington  by,  at  Boston,  190,  191,  192. 


Pope,  Mr.,  his  Planetarium  in  tho  Philosophy  Boom  a» 
Cambridge,  193,  note. 

, the  poet,  his  mention  of  Wm.  Shippen,  15,  nolef. 

Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  Washington’s  reception  at, 
195.  Eefined  state  of  society  at  (1789),  196.  Private 
carriages,  and  liveries,  ib. 

Portuguese  Minister.  See  Frere. 

Post,  Dr.  Wright,  a popular  physician  of  New  York,  177. 

Powell,  Samuel,  of  Philadelphia,  211.  Standing  of  the 
family  of,  294,  298.  Uncle  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  298. 
Pall-bearer  at  Dr.  Franklin’s  funeral,  221,  note. 

, Mrs.,  the  intimate  friend  of  Mrs.  Washington, 

375,  393. 

Pratt,  Mr.  and  Miss,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99, 

note. 

Prescott  family,  of  Boston,  ancient  and  distinguished,  8. 
Literary  fame  of,  ib. 

Prevost,  Mrs.,  widow  of  a British  officer,  marries  Aaron 
Burr,  174. 

Price,  Benj.,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Priestley,  Dr.  Joseph,  in  America,  in  1794, 379.  Supports 
the  French  interest,  ib.  Is  disappointed,  and  retires 
to  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania,  380.  Thomas 
Cooper,  the  intimate  friend  of,  3S0. 

Princeton,  New  Jersey,  the  old  Congress  remove  (1783) 
to,  231.  See  Nassau  Hall. 

Prisons  of  Philadelphia,  a work  treating  of,  published  by 
Eochefoucauld,  386. 

Protector  of  Liberties,  a proposed  title  of  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  U.  S.,  152. 

Providence,  Ehode  Island,  Washington's  enthusiastic  re- 
ception at,  227. 

Providence  of  God,  recognizod,  in  the  formation  of  the 
“Convention,”  75;  and  the  election  of  Washington, 
114.  Eecognized  by  Congress,  181. 

Provoost,  Dr.  Samuel  (Bishop  of  New  York),  one  of  tho 
clergy  of  New  York,  in  17S9, 13S,  note.  Consecrates 
Trinity  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  226.  Notice 
of,  by  Dr.  John  W.  Francis,  176,  note  t.  He  and  Mrs. 
P.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note.  Mrs.  P.  is 
at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156.  She  pays  her  compli- 
ments to  Mrs.  Washington,  164. 

Pryor  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Public  Worship,  Washington's  habit  of,  151,  184,  190, 196, 
226,  336,  366. 

Punch,  much  used  (17S7)  in  genteel  families  in  New  Eng- 
land, 46. 

Q. 

Quakers,  and  Quakeresses,  remarks  on,  11,  194,  232,  323, 
824,  325,  354,  374. 

Quincy  family,  of  Boston,  ancient  and  distinguished,  8. 

, Josiah,  the  guest  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  400.  Mrs. 

Adams’s  account  of,  400,  401. 

, Mrs.  John  Hancock,  a member  of  the  Quincy 

family,  192,  note. 

R. 

Samsay,  Dr.  David,  of  South  Carolina,  a member  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  79.  His  writings,  quoted,  332, 
333. 

Randall,  Captain  Thomas,  of  New  York,  Washington’s 
letter  to,  respecting  his  barge,  230. 

Randolph , Miss,  a Philadelphia  “belle,”  in  1757,  13. 

, Beverly,  Governor  of  Virginia,  215. 

Edmund,  of  Virginia,  Attorney  General  of  the  U. 

S.,  181.  Secretary  of  State,  854.  Conversation  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson,  in  relation  to,  356.  His 
disgraceful  conduct,  in  reference  to  cabinet  secrets. 


INDEX. 


475 


Jay’s  treaty,  &c.,  357.  His  detection,  858,  359.  His 
“ Vindication,”  360.  Notice  of,  207. 

Randolph , John,  his  boon  companions,  323.  His  correspon- 
dence with  Mrs.  Morris,  207,  note.  His  praise  of  Miss 
Martha  Jefferson,  218,  note.  Notice  of,  207,  208. 

, Thomas  Mann,  of  Tuckahoe,  marries  Martha, 

daughter  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  219. 

Rapelye,  Stephen,  of  New  York,  member  of  the  Social 
Club,  14S,  note. 

Rawdon,  Lord,  Washington  visits  the  spot  where  Gene- 
ral Greene  was  attacked  by,  338. 

, M.,  secretary  of  M.  Gardoqui,  72. 

Rawle , Wm.,  of  Philadelphia,  298,  323. 

Rea , Daniel,  the  vocalist  of  Boston,  his  salutation  of 
Washington,  189. 

Read,  George,  of  Delaware,  delegate  to  the  “ Conven- 
tion,” CO.  H.  S.  Senator  (1789),  166,  note.  His  char- 
acter and  personal  appearance,  60,  61. 

Reade,  John,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Social  Club, 
148,  note. 

Reed  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12.  Mr.  R.,  at  the  festival 
in  honor  of  the  Dauphin,  21.  William  B.  Beed’s 
Memoir  of  President  lteed,  quoted,  163,  note. 

Reily,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “dames,”  in  1757,  13. 

Religion,  Oliver  Wolcott’s  account  of,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  1789,  207.  List  of  clergymen  in  the  city,  in 
1789,  138,  note.  Col.  Trumbull's  account  of  the  con- 
tempt of,  exhibited  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Giles, 
396,  398.  See  St.  Paul's  Chapel. 

Revolution,  American,  dates  of  its  beginning  and  end,  1. 

Revolutionary  War.  See  War  of  the  Revolution. 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  his  remarks  on  portrait  painting, 
quoted,  412. 

Rhode  Island,  State  of,  appoints  Commissioners  to  meet 
at  Annapolis,  44.  Sends  no  delegates  to  the  “ Con- 
vention,” 50.  Is  visited  in  1789,  by  Washington,  227 ; 
who  is  divertingly  confounded  with  President  Man- 
ning of  the  College  of,  185. 

Richardson,  Miss  Jeany,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,” 
in  1757, 13. 

, Eev.  Wm.,  maternal  uncle  of  Wm.  R.  Davie,  70. 

Richmond,  Virginia,  Washington’s  reception  at,  331.  His 
statue,  409.  Celebration  of  his  Birth-day,  in  1790, 
217. 

Richmond  Hill,  168, 174. 

Ricketts,  Mr.,  his  circus  at  Philadelphia,  visited  by  Wash- 
ington, 375,  376,  and  note. 

Ridley , Matthew,  marries  Kitty,  daughter  of  Governor 
Wm.  Livingston,  ofNew  Jersey,  97. 

Rittenhouse,  David,  is  a pall-bearer  at  Franklin’s  funeral, 
221.  Takes  part  in  the  reception  of  Genet,  349. 

Rivington  family,  of  Philadelphia,  11. 

•,  of  the  Eoyal  Gazette,  his  residence  in  New  York, 

31,  note. 

Robbins,  Edward  (afterward  Governor  of  Massachusetts), 
discovers  Talleyrand  at  Mount  Desert,  in  Maine,  381. 

Robertson,  Mrs.,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  “ belles  and 
dames,”  in  1757, 13. 

, General,  pays  his  respects  to  Miss  Franks,  24. 

, Archibald,  of  Aberdeen,  painter,  is  introduced  to 

Washington  by  Earl  Buchan,  410.  Is  bearer  of  the 
Earl’s  present  to  W.,  of  the  “Wallace  box,”  ib.  Por- 
trait of  W.  by,  410. 

Robin,  Abbe,  his  views  of  society  in  America,  436.  His 
description  of  Washington’s  personal  appearance,  428, 
429. 

Robinson  family,  ofNew  York,  loyalists,  16. 

Rochambeau,  Count,  with  Washington,  on  his  way  to 
Yorktown,  6.  Chastellux,  a Major  General  under,  9. 
His  remarks  on  the  extravagance  of  women’s  dress  in 
America,  823. 

Rochefoucauld , Due  de  la,  his  views  of  society  in  Amer- 


ica, 436,  437,  438.  His  remarks  on  the  extravagant 
love  of  pleasure  in  Charleston,  333 ; and  on  ribbons 
and  Quakeresses,  323.  His  description  of  General 
Knox,  Mrs.  K.  and  their  daughter,  393.  His  notice 
of  Kosciusko  and  Niemcewicz,  3S9,  390.  Is  one  of 
Miss  Vining’s  guests,  26,  note.  His  description  of 
Gray’s  Ferry,  162,  note.  His  most  intimate  associates, 
395.  He  and  Lafayette  second  Mirabeau’s  motion  in 
the  French  National  Assembly,  to  mourn  for  Frank- 
lin, 223.  Thiers’  description  of,  385.  His  writings, 
386.  Notice  of,  853. 

Rodgers,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  of  New  York,  29,  138 ,note,  176. 

Rondon , Mr.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Roosevelt  family,  of  New  York,  their  residence,  33,  note. 

, Isaac,  sen.,  first  President  of  the  Bank  of  New 

York,  33,  note. 

Rose,  Robert,  marries  the  sister  of  James  Madison,  323. 

Ross,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757, 13 

, James,  of  Pittsburg  (afterward  IT.  S.  Senator), 

Washington’s  agent  for  the  sale  of  his  lands  in  Penn- 
sylvania, 360.  His  anecdote  of  Washington  on  the 
appearance  of  Randolph’s  Vindication,  361.  His 
beautiful  daughter,  394 : an  intimate  friend  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  393. 

, Miss  Eliza,  of  Bladensburg,  Maryland,  marries 

Jeremiah  Smith,  402. 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  of  Philadelphia,  his  account  of  M. 
Luzerne’s  fete  in  honor  of  the  Dauphin,  20,  21.  His 
opinion  of  the  morals  of  New  York,  232.  Mrs.  R.  at 
the  Dauphin  fete,  20. 

, Judge  Jacob,  of  Philadelphia,  takes  part  in  the 

“ Constitution  Celebration,”  106. 

, Richard,  of  Philadelphia,  his  recollections  of 

Washington,  867,  368.  His  anecdote  of  Washington’s 
attachment  to  Lafayette,  391 ; and  remarks  on  his 
residence,  242,  note.  His  tribute  to  Washington,  242, 
note.  His  notice  of  Mrs.  Bradford,  394,  note. 

Rutgers,  Colonel,  ofNew  York,  his  mansion  and  grounds, 
225.  Marriage  of  his  daughter,  ib. 

Rutherford,  John,  and  Mrs.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List, 
99,  note. 

Rutledge,  John,  of  So.  Carolina,  delegate  to  the  “ Con- 
vention,” 72.  At  the  Congress  in  1765,  72.  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  H.  S.,  181.  Character,  his- 
tory, and  appearance  of,  72,  73.  His  sister  marries 
William  Smith,  395. 

Rye,  New  York,  the  estate  of  Mr.  Jay  at,  183.  Mrs.  Jay 
buried  there,  373,  note. 


S. 

St.  Clair,  General  Arthur,  meets  Washington  on  his  way 
to  Philadelphia,  127.  Is  present  at  the  Inauguration, 
140.  Dines  with  Washington,  164. 

St.  Glain,  M.  de,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

St.  Paul's  Chapel,  New  York,  the  largest  and  most  fre- 
quented in  the  city,  81.  J.  Q.  Adams  attended  ser- 
vice there,  in  1785,  80.  President  Washington,  Vice 
President  Adams,  and  the  Senators,  Representatives, 
and  Heads  of  Departments,  attended  prayers  there, 
immediately  after  the  Inauguration,  144, 145.  Ham- 
ilton’s Oration  on  General  Greene,  delivered  there, 
177,  178. 

Salem,  Massachusetts,  Washington’s  reception  at,  194 
His  birth-day  celebrated  at,  217. 

Salisbury,  Lady,  Mrs..  Adams  describes  the  appearance 
of,  296. 

Saratoga,  New  York,  Jefferson  and  Madison  visit  the 
battle-field  of,  340.  Washington  and  Governor 
George  Clinton  contemplate  the  purchase  of  the 
springs,  of,  35. 


476 


INDEX. 


Sardam , Holland,  Peter  the  Great  works  (169T)  in  the 
dock -yard  at,  243. 

Saussure,  M.  de,  one  of  Mr.  Jay's  guests,  91. 

Savage , Edward,  painter,  portrait  of  'Washington  by, 
409. 

Savannah,  Georgia,  defence  of,  in  1799,  337.  Eeception 
of  ^Washington  at,  336,  337. 

Schlegel,  Augustus  yon,  his  remark  on  authorship, 
quoted,  423. 

6 chureman,  James,  of  New  Jersey,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  17S9, 166,  note. 

Schuyler , General,  father  of  Mrs.  Alexander  Hamilton, 
Mrs.  Van  Eensselaer,  and  Mrs.  Church,  380.  In  Mrs. 
Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Schuylkill  River,  celebrated  by  a poet,  162,  note.  Con- 
trasted with  the  Hudson,  by  Mrs.  Adams,  249. 

Scotch  Irish  settlement  in  North  Carolina,  character  o£ 
64. 

, families,  arrive  at  Philadelphia,  about  1740 — 45, 

12. 

Scott,  Thomas,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Congress  in 
1789,  166,  note. 

Scriba,  Captain,  his  German  Grenadiers  at  the  Inaugu- 
ration, 139. 

Seagrove,  James,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Social 
Club,  148,  note. 

Sears,  Mr.,  and  family,  guests  of  Mrs.  Jay,  99,  note.  Miss 
S.  dines  with  Gen.  Knox,  79.  Her  personal  appear- 
ance described  by  J.  Q.  Adams,  79. 

Seat  of  Government,  under  the  Constitution,  at  New 
York,  113  ss.  Its  removal  to  Philadelphia,  231  ss, 
251. 

Sedgwick,  Theodore,  of  New  York,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  1789,  166,  note.  A guest  at  Mr.  Jay’s,  91.  J.  Q. 
Adams  calls  pn,  in  1785,  78. 

, Mrs.  S.,  at  the  first  levee  in  Philadelphia,  326. 

Notice  of  her,  ib. 

Segar.  See  Cigar. 

Seixas,  Eev.  Gershom,  of  New  York,  in  charge  of  the 
Jewish  congregation  there,  17S9, 138,  note. 

Seny,  Joshua,  of  Maryland,  Member  of  Congress  in  1789, 
166,  note. 

Serene  Highness,  a proposed  title  of  the  President  of  the 
U.  S.,  153. 

Seton,  Miss,  marries  John  Vining.  M.  C.  of  Delaware, 

102. 

Severn  River,  Maryland,  the  President  and  his  suite 
meet  with  an  accident  on,  330. 

Seymour,  Julia,  Trumbull’s  portrait  of,  410. 

Shaw,  Mrs.  (sister  of  Mrs.  Adams),  Mrs.  Adams’s  letter 
to,  describing  Eichmond  Hill,  168. 

Sherman,  Eoger,  of  Connecticut,  delegate  to  the  “ Cou- 
vention,”  50.  Member  of  Congress  in  1789,  119,  166, 
note.  Playfully  referred  to,  by  John  Armstrong,  122, 
note.  Present  at  the  Inauguration,  140.  Character 
and  personal  appearance  of,  50,  51.  Ono  of  the  Sign- 
ers of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  50. 

Shippen,  Joseph,  of  Philadelphia,  subscriber  for  the  Phi- 
ladelphia dancing  assembly,  in  1748, 13.  Mrs.  Joseph 
8.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in  1757,”  13. 

, family,  of  Philadelphia,  11,  12,  15.  Edward, 

grandfather  of  Mrs.  Anne  Willing,  15.  Chief  Justice, 
299. 

Siddons,  Mrs.,  sister  of  Mrs.  Whitlock,  the  actress,  373. 

Sidnor,  Lynford,  subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Sieyes,  Abbe,  President  of  the  French  National  Assem- 
bly, letter  of,  to  Washington,  on  the  death  of  Frank- 
lin, 223. 

Sims  family,  of  Philadelphia,  12.  Joseph  and  Buckridge, 
subscribers  for  the  dancing  assembly,  in  1748,  13. 
Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “dames,”  in  1757,13, 


Sinnickson,  Thomas,  New  Jersey,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  1789,  166,  note. 

Skipwith,  Sir  Peyton,  married  Miss  Millar,  104, 105. 

Smallwood,  General,  escorts  Washington  at  Annapo- 
lis, 4. 

Smith,  Mrs.  George,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  in 
1757, 13. 

, Jeremiah,  of  New  Hampshire  (afterward  Judge 

of  the  Supreme  Court),  the  friend  of  Wolcott,  Ames, 
and  Sedgwick,  401.  Playful  correspondence  with 
Ames,  806.  His  description  of  the  low  state  of  mo- 
rals in  Philadelphia,  327.  His  flirtations,  and  love 
ditty,  401,  402.  Notice  of,  401. 

, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Malanctlion,  of  New  York,  in  Mrs. 

Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

, Colonel  Wm.  8.,  of  New  York,  of  the  Smith  fami- 
ly of  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  91.  Is  engaged  to  Miss 
Adams,  only  daughter  of  John  A.,  80,  170.  Marries 
her  (1786),  91,  100.  Eeturns  to  America,  101.  Hires 
a farm  on  Long  Island,  97. 

, Mrs.  Colonel  Wm.,  extracts  from  letters  of,  91,  92, 

94.  Her  account  of  public  measures,  and  public  men, 

1788,  96.  She  describes  Governor  and  Mrs.  Clinton, 
94,  95.  Her  opinion  of  Miss  Martha  Jefferson,  218, 
note.  Her  account  of  frequent  dinner-parties,  96. 
Her  remarks  on  the  women  of  Philadelphia,  in  con- 
trast with  those  of  Boston,  297.  Gen.  Armstrong's 
notice  of,  101.  J.  Q.  Adams  writes  verses  in  the 
scrap-book  of  her  granddaughter,  171,  note. 

, Miss  Sally,  J.  Q.  Adams's  opinion  of,  81. 

, Eev.  Dr.  Wm.,  of  Philadelphia,  Provost  of  the 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  is  appointed  by  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  to  delivei  a discourse 
on  Franklin,  212,  226. 

, Wm.,  of  South  Carolina,  Member  of  Congress,  in 

1789,  167,  note.  A prominent  Federalist,  and  man 
of  fashion,  395.  Accompanies  Washington  in  his 
Eastern  tour  (1789),  333.  Marries  a sister  of  John 
Eutledge,  395.  Portrait  of  her,  by  Woolaston,  159, 
note. 

, William,  of  Maryland,  Member  of  Congress,  in 

1789, 166,  note, 

, Jeremiah,  of  New  Hampshire,  marries  Miss  Boss, 

of  Bladensburg,  402,  403. 

Sober  family,  of  Philadelphia,  13,  note.  John  S.,  a sub- 
scriber for  the  Philadelphia  assembly,  in  1748,  13. 
Mrs.  S.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “dames,”  in  1757, 
13. 

Social  Club  of  New  York,  list  of  members  of,  14S,  note. 

Society,  refined,  in  America,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Ee- 
volution,  7.  State  of,  then,  at  Boston,  9, 10;  at  New 
York,  7 : Philadelphia,  7,*  8,  11,  12,  253.  In  New 
England,  in  1787,  45;  habits,  manners,  dress,  dinners, 
suppers,  cards,  music,  46.  At  Portsmouth,  Mrs.  Lee’s 
description  of,  196.  Elegant,  at  New  York,  203; 
Washington’s  reception-days,  165;  he  seldom  at 
balls,  and  Mrs.  W.  never  once,  in  New  York,  204 
Amusing  description  of,  by  Miss  Franks,  22-24 ; and 
by  General  Armstrong,  101,102;  Oliver  Wolcott's  ac- 
count of  the  rates  of  living,  in  New  York,  206,  207. 
Intellectual  and  refined,  at  Philadelphia,  according  to 
Miss  Vining  and  Miss  Franks,  22.  Brissot’s  views 
of  it,  85;  Lauzun's,  291.  State  of,  in  the  Southern 
States,  61  ss.  In  Virginia,  a class  of  first  families, 
62 ; landed  estates,  ib.  ; aristocracy,  61 ; castes,  62, 
63 ; spirit  of  hospitality,  63.  In  North  Carolina,  64 
In  South  Carolina,  64,  65 ; the  influence  of  the 
French  element  in,  65,  332.  Characteristic  traits  of, 
in  tho  North  and  in  the  South,  65,  66.  Views  of 
American,  by  Beaujour,  43S,  439;  Chastellux,  434; 
Mazzei,  435 ; Eobin,  436 ; Eochambeau,  433  ; Koche- 
foucauld,  436,  43S ; Talleyrand,  436 ; Volney,  436. 


INDEX. 


477 


Soderstrom , M.,  Swedish  Consul  at  New  York,  81. 

Solms,  Count  de,  Washington  sends  a portrait  of  himself 
to,  408. 

Solomayer,  Duke  of,  son  of  Marquis  d’Yrujo,  388. 

South  Carolina , ratifies  (1788)  the  Constitution,  105,- 
Prevalence  of  duelling  in,  332.  Opposed  to  assuming 
the  State  debts,  233. 

Southern  Tour,  by  Washington,  329. 

Spaight,  Richard  D.,  of  North  Carolina,  marries  Mary 
Leech,  105. 

Stafford,  Baron,  marries  a daughter  of  Mr.  Caton,  of  Bal- 
timore, 209,  note  *. 

Steadman  family,  of  Philadelphia,  13,  note.  Alexander 
and  Charles,  subscribers  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748,  13,  Mrs.  A.  S.  and  Mrs.  C.  S.  are 
among  the  “ dames  ” of  Philadelphia,  in  1757,  13. 

Steuben,  Baron,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note.  Is 
present  at  the  Inauguration,  140 ; and  the  Bali,  154. 
General  Armstrong’s  notice  of,  101.  His  poverty, 
102.  President  Duer’s  anecdote  of  him,  in  relation  to 
the  Doctors’  Mob,  102,  note  *. 

Stevens,  J.,  of  New  York,  a member  of  the  Social  Club, 
148,  note. 

Stewart,  General  Walter  S.,  of  Philadelphia,  338.  Mrs., 
notices  of,  297,  393,  894. 

Stiles , Rev.  Dr.  Ezra,  President  of  Yale  College,  his  re- 
ception of  Washington,  184.  His  Latin  oration  on 
Franklin,  222. 

Sterling,  Lord,  his  daughter,  Katherine  Alexander,  mar- 
ries Col.  William  Duer,  27. 

, Lady,  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  155;  and  pays  her 

compliments  to  Mrs.  Washington,  164. 

Stillwater,  New  York,  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison 
visit  the  battle-field  of,  340. 

Stockton,  Sukey,  at  the  Philadelphia  festival  in  honor  of 
the  Dauphin,  20. 

Stone,  Colonel,  his  description  of  ladies’  costume,  in  1789, 
155 ; of  the  Inauguration  Ball,  157.  His  account  of 
Washington’s  levees,  165,  note. 

, Michael  Jenifer,  of  Maryland,  Member  of  Congress 

in  1789, 166,  note. 

Story,  Judge,  as  a poet,  was  an  imitator  of  Mr.  Merry, 
407. 

Strong , Caleb,  of  Massachusetts,  delegate  to  the  “ Con- 
vention,” 49.  TJ.  S.  Senator,  in  1789, 166,  note.  His 
character  and  personal  appearance,  49. 

Sturges,  Jonathan,  of  Connecticut,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  1789, 166,  note. 

Stuart,  Gilbert,  returns  to  the  U.  S.  from  London,  411. 
Numerous  portraits  of  Washington  by,  411.  Por- 
trait of  Volney  by,  389.  Washington’s  note  to,  411, 
note.  Mrs.  Cushing’s  mention  of,  411. 

Sullivan,  General,  President  of  New  Hampshire,  recep- 
tion of  Washington  by,  195-197. 

Sumter,  Thomas,  of  South  Carolina,  Member  of  Congress 
in  1789,  167,  note. 

Sunday , observance  of  (1789),  in  New  York  City,  207. 

Supreme  Court,  of  New  York,  list  of  attorneys  of,  in 
1789,  175. 

Swan,  Mrs.,  of  New  York,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List, 
99,  note. 

Swift,  John,  of  Philadelphia,  a subscriber  for  the  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13.  Mrs.,  one  of  the  “ dames,”  in 
1757,  13. 

, Zephaniah,  of  Hartford,  one  of  the  classmates  of 

Oliver  Wolcott,  205, 

Sylvester,  Peter,  of  New  York,  Member  of  Congress,  in 
1789,  166,  note. 

Symmes,  John  Cleve,  marries  Susan,  daughter  of  Gov. 
William  Livingston,  of  New  Jersey,  97.  Mrs.  S.  in 
Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 


T. 

Taft,  Mr.,  innkeeper  near  Uxbridge,  Massachusetts, 
Washington’s  interesting  letter  to,  198,  note. 

Talleyrand,  M.  de,  visits  America  in  1794,  380.  His  let- 
ters of  introduction,  380.  His  reception  in  the  U.  S., 
881.  Becomes  an  American  citizen,  881.  His  place 
of  residence,  381.  Anecdote  of  M.  Beaumet's  attempt 
to  take  the  life  of,  382,  384.  Story  of  his  scorching 
his  buckskin  breeches,  382.  His  personal  appearance 
and  manners,  382.  Lord  Brougham’s  remarks  on  him 
as  a writer,  438.  His  admirable  description  of  the 
American  woodcutter,  and  tho  American  fisherman, 
438. 

Talon,  M.  de,  with  the  Viscount  de  Noailles,  projects  a 
settlement  on  the  Susquehanna,  379. 

Tammany  Society,  or  Columbian  Order,  217,  222,  224. 

Taylor,  Abram,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748.  Mrs.  T.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia 
“ belles  and  dames,”  in  1757,  13. 

Telfair,  Governor  of  Georgia,  reception  of  Washington 
by,  at  Augusta,  338. 

Temperance,  the  leading  virtue  of  republicans,  according 
to  M.  Brissot,  90.  See  Punch,  and  Drunkenness. 

Temple,  Sir  John,  British  Consul  General,  residence  of, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  32,  note*.  Contradictory 
accounts  of,  by  Chastellux  and  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 

94.  His  conduct  towards  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Smith, 

95.  Lady  T.,  the  daughter  of  Governor  Bowdoin  of 
Massachusetts,  94.  She  pays  her  compliments  to  Mrs. 
Washington,  164  Sir  John  and  she  dine  at  Mr.  Jay’s, 
92 ; are  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note  ; and 
are  present  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156.  Notice 
of  Sir  John,  94  Remark  on  Lady  T.,  by  Chastel- 
lux, 94. 

, Miss,  daughter  of  Sir  John  and  Lady  T.  (afterward 

Mrs.  Winthrop),  long  the  reigning  belle  of  Boston, 
10,  note  *.  Greatly  admired  by  Lafayette,  10,  note  ; 
and  by  Chastellux,  9.  Mother  of  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
10,  note  *.  Notice  of,  ib. 

Thanksgiving  and  Prayer,  Congress  request  the  Presi- 
dent to  appoint  a day  of,  181. 

Thatcher,  George,  of  Massachusetts,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  1789,  166,  note. 

Thayendanegea,  an  Indian  Chief.  See  Brant. 

Theatres,  the  toleration  of,  advocated  by  Robert  Morris, 
and  General  Wayne,  213;  and  opposed  by  the  Quak- 
ers, 374.  A theatre  opened  (1786)  at  Philadelphia, 
214  Frequently  visited  (1791  and  1792)  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President,  with  their  families,  371. 
New  theatre  erected  in  Philadelphia,  in  1792,  ib. ; its 
manager  and  actors,  315,  316.  A theatre  opened 
(1786)  at  New  York,  214;  William  Dunlap’s  success 
as  a dramatic  writer  for,  213,  214;  Washington  at- 
tends, 158, 159.  Mrs.  Bingham’s  failure  to  secure  a 
private  hox  in  Wignell’s,  374  See  Drama. 

Theodosia,  daughter  of  Aaron  Burr,  referred  to,  173. 

Thomson,  Adam,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

, Charles,  Secretary  to  Congress,  is  appointed  (April 

6, 1789)  to  inform  Washington  of  his  election  to  the 
presidency,  122.  Is  at  Mount  Vernon  (April  14,  1789), 
124.  He  and  Mrs.  T.  in  Mrs  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99, 
note. 

Thiers,  M.,  his  description  of  M.  de  Rochefoucald,  385. 

Ticonderoga,  visited  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison, 
340. 

Tilghman  family,  0i  Philadelphia,  12. 

Tilly,  Alexandre,  Comte  de,  marries  Maria  Bingham,  418, 
note. 

Titus  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Todd,  Mr.,  a Quaker,  marries  Dolly  Payne,  395 ; who  be- 


478 


INDEX. 


comes,  after  his  death,  the  wife  of  President  Madi- 
son, 895. 

Townsend  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  83,  note. 

Tractors , Metallic.  See  Perkins. 

Tracy , Uriah,  of  Connecticut,  U.  S.  Senator,  anecdote  of 
him  and  Mr.  Liston,  in  relation  to  Mrs.  Oliver  Wol- 
cott, 400.  One  of  Oliver  Wolcott's  classmates,  205. 

Travelling , state  of,  in  America,  at  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  115,  116,  119.  New  Plying  Diligence,  116. 
Eatcs  of,  60  years  ago,  117,  note.  Fraunces’s  stage- 
office,  117,  note. 

Traversal/,  Marquis  and  Marquise  de,  190,  192.  Her 
dress,  at  tko  festivities,  during  Washington’s  visit  at 
Boston,  in  1789,  192. 

Trenton,  reception  of  Washington  by  the  ladies  of,  in 
1789,  129;  celebration  of  Washington’s  birth-day  at, 
217. 

Trinity  Church,  New  York,  burned  in  the  great  fire  of 
Sept.  21,  1776,  28,  note  *.  The  new  church  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Provoost,  in  the  presence  of  Wash- 
ington, the  cabinet,  &c.,  in  1789,  226.  The  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Blagrove’s  musical  exhibition,  in,  ib. 

Trist,  Nicholas  P.,  marries  the  granddaughter  of  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson, 218,  note. 

Trott,  Benjamin,  a celebrated  miniature  painter,  412. 

Trotter,  James,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13. 

Troup,  Robert,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  attorneys  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  175.  Takes  part  in  the  “ Constitu- 
tion Celebration,”  110. 

Trumbull,  Jonathan,  of  Connecticut,  Member  of  Congress 
in  1789, 166,  note. 

■ , John,  of  Connecticut,  author  of  “McFingal,”  one 

of  the  classmates  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  205,  206.  His 
characteristic  letter  to  Wolcott,  205,  note. 

, Colonel  John,  of  Connecticut,  his  success  as  an 

artist,  408.  Portraits  of  Washington  by,  225,  335, 
note,  409;  his  portrait  of  Mrs.  Washington,  869;  and 
portraits  of  Temple  Franklin,  Nelly  Custis,  Sophia 
Chew,  Harriet  Chew,  Cornelia  Schuyler,  Julia  Sey- 
mour, and  two  daughters  of  Jeremiah  Wadsworth, 
410.  Effect  produced  by  his  full-length  portrait  of 
Washington,  upon  the  Creek  Chiefs,  225,  226.  His 
account  of  a dinner  party  at  Mr.  Jefferson's,  396.  Is 
offered,  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  a mission  to  the  Barbary 
States,  396.  Trumbull  Gallery  at  New  Haven,  369. 

Tryon,  Governor,  of  North  Carolina,  the  old  palace  of,  at 
Newbern,  331,  note. 

Tucker,  Thomas  Tudor,  of  South  Carolina,  Member  of 
Congress  in  17S9, 167,  note.  One  of  the  relatives  of 
John  Randolph,  208.  His  remarks  on  official  titles, 
and  aristocratic  living,  154. 

Tudor,  Mrs.,  of  Boston,  her  education  and  social  refine- 
ment, 9.  Meets  with  Chastellux,  ib. 

Tuesday  Evening  Club,  of  Boston,  its  antiquity,  9. 

Turenne,  Marshal,  Flechier’s  oration  on,  quoted,  830,  note. 

Turnbull,  Mr.,  marries  Susan  Van  Horne,  104  He  and 
Mrs.  T.  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Turner,  Joseph,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  174S,  13,  note. 


u. 

United  Brethren's  school.  See  Bethlehem. 

United  States,  articles  of  Confederation  of,  40.  Sover- 
eignty of  each  State,  ib.  Debt  of,  42.  Measures  to 
extinguish  the  debt,  ib.  Early  history  of  the  Consti- 
tution of,  43,  44.  The  first  President  of,  122 ; his  pro- 
posed official  titles,  152,  158.  Treaty  of,  with  Great 
Britain,  by  Jay,  857.  Unparalleled  progress  in  popu- 
lation and  prosperity,  6,  7. 


V. 

Valle,  M.  de  la,  one  of  Mr.  Jay’s  guests,  91. 

Van  Berckel,  Mr.,  the  Dutch  Minister  to  the  U.  S.,  79 
80,  210.  Among  the  guests  of  Mr.  Jay,  91,  98,  note. 
Remarks  on  the  daughter  of,  by  John  Quincy  Adams, 
80. 

Van  Courtlandt,  Augustus,  of  New  York,  his  house  es- 
capes the  ravages  of  the  fire,  Sept.  21,  1776,  28.  He, 
Mrs.  V.,  and  the  Misses  V.,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation 
List,  98,  note.  See  Courtlandt. 

Van  Dam  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  31. 

Van  Horne  family,  of  New  York,  Whigs,  the  residence 
of,  30,  note,  31,  note.  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  Mr.  C.,  Miss  Betty 
A.,  and  Miss  Cornelia,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List, 
99,  note.  Miss  Franks,  the  guest  of  Mrs.  V.,  22.  Miss 
Kitty,  the  belle  of  the  family,  23.  Miss  Susan  mar- 
ries Mr.  Turnbull,  104;  description  of  her,  by  Miss 
Franks,  104. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Jeremiah,  of  New  York,  Member  of 
Congress,  in  1789, 166,  note. 

Van  Schaack , Peter,  of  Kinderhook,  a member  of  the 
Social  Club,  148,  note. 

Van  Zandt,  Miss,  at  the  Inauguration  Ball,  156.  Wash- 
ington dances  a minuet  with  her,  ib. 

Varick,  Colonel  Richard,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  At- 
torneys of  the  Supreme  Court,  175.  He  and  Mrs.  V., 
in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Varnum,  General,  with  other  distinguished  characters, 
escorts  Washington  into  Philadelphia,  in  1787,  432. 

Vaudreuil,  Marquis  de,  dines  at  Mr.  Breck’s,  with  Chas- 
tellux, 9. 

Venables,  Mrs.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ dames,”  13. 

Verlentenberg  Hill,  a portion  of  the  old  city  wall  of  New 
York,  29. 

Verplanck  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  31,  note  t. 
Cornelius  V.,  in  Mrs.  Jay's  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 
Gulian  V.,  President  of  the  New  York  Bank,  a mem- 
ber of  Social  Club,  148,  note. 

Victoria,  Queen  of  England,  the  father  of,  in  the  U.  8., 
in  1794,  387. 

Vining,  John,  of  Delaware,  Member  of  Congress  in  1789, 
166,  note.  Marries  Miss  Seton,  102. 

, Miss,  account  of  society  at  Philadelphia  by,  22 ; 

is  celebrated  at  the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette,  21 ; 
among  her  guests  were  the  Duke  de  Liancourt,  and 
Duke  of  Orleans,  ib.  Miss  Montgomery’s  description 
of,  ib.  Extract  from  her  letter  to  Governor  Dickin- 
son, 21. 

Virginia,  proposal  of  (1786),  for  a meeting  of  Commis- 
sioners on  trade  and  commerce,  43.  Ratifies  (1788) 
the  Constitution,  105.  State  of  society  in,  61 — 64. 
See  Society. 

Vly  Market,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  32. 

Volney , M.,  his  observations  on  dietetics  in  America,  439. 
His  unfavorable  opinion  of  Washington's  abilities, 
3S9.  His  vanity,  388 ; personal  appearance,  3S9 . Ap- 
plies to  Washington  for  letters  of  introduction,  389. 
Washington’s  pithy  reply  to  him,  ib.  Portrait  of;  by 
Stuart,  ib. 


w. 

Wadsworth,  Jeremiah,  of  Connecticut,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, in  1789,  119, 166,  note. 

Wales,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  Congregational  minister  of  New 
Haven,  his  reception  of  Washington,  184 
Walker,  Colonel,  of  New  York,  a prominent  citizen  in 
1783,  32. 

Wall  Street,  New  York,  formerly  the  resort  of  fashion,  31. 
Wallace,  John,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 


INDEX. 


479 


assembly,  in  1748, 18,  note.  Mrs.  W.,  one  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia “ dames,”  in  1757, 13. 

Wallace,  John  Bradford,  nephew  of  Attorney  General 
Wm.  Bradford,  366,  note,  394,  note.  The  friend  of 
Daniel  Webster,  id. 

, Mrs.  Susan,  wife  of  John  B.  W.,  Eev.  Dr.  Herman 

Hooker's  tribute  to,  366,  note.  Was  often  at  balls 
with  Washington,  id.  Goes  with  Mrs.  Oliver  Wol- 
cott, to  one  of  Mrs.  Washington’s  drawing  rooms,  id. 
Her  description  of  Mrs.  William  Bradford,  394,  note. 
Her  account  of  Washington’s  habits,  appearance,  and 
manners,  865. 

, John  W.,  brother  of  Horace  Binney  W.,  361,  note. 

• , Horace  Binney,  of  Philadelphia,  his  note-book 

quoted,  365.  His  conversations  with  his  mother,  id. 

, Sir  Win.,  of  Scotland,  a box  made  of  the  oak  that 

sheltered  him,  presented  to  Washington  by  the  Earl 
of  Buchan,  410. 

Wain  family,  of  Philadelphia,  of  the  elder  part  of  the  pro- 
vincial aristocracy,  11. 

Walpole,  Horace,  his  mention  of  Woolaston,  the  painter, 
159,  note. 

Walton  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Wansey,  Henry,  visits  Philadelphia,  in  June,  1794,  368. 
Describes  Washington’s  simple  manners,  id. ; Mrs. 
W.  and  Miss  Custis,  369,  870.  His  account  of  the 
Philadelphia  theatre,  372 ; the  dress  of  the  Philadel- 
phians, 374;  Harrowgate  Gardens,  and  Gray’s  Gar- 
dens, 377. 

War  of  tho  Revolution,  its  duration,  1.  Affliction  and 
poverty  caused  by,  1,  2.  Expense  of,  42. 

Warren,  Mrs.,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  “ dames  ” in 
1757, 13. 

family,  of  Boston,  one  of  distinction,  8. 

, James,  of  Massachusetts,  Washington’s  letter  to 

(1785),  suggesting  the  thought  of  his  Eastern  Tour, 
183,  note. 

, Mrs.  Mercy,  of  Boston,  sister  of  James  Otis,  199, 

405.  Mrs.  Washington’s  letter  to,  200-202.  Her 
writings,  200,  note.  Specimens  of  her  poetry,  id. 
Notice  of,  id.  Portrait  of,  by  Copley,  200,  note. 

Wartime,  M.  Jean  Pierre  Brissot  de.  See  Brissot. 

Washington,  General  George,  of  Virginia,  his  farewell 
(Nov.  1,  ’83)  to  the  American  army,  1 ; and  to  the  of- 
ficers, 2.  Enters  the  city  of  New  York,  with  Gover- 
nor Clinton  and  some  of  the  American  troops,  2. 
Governor  Clinton’s  public  dinner  to,  3.  His  affec- 
tionate manner  of  parting  with  jfis  officers,  3.  A 
Revolutionary  officer’s  tribute  to,  3,  note.  His  arri- 
val at  Annapolis,  and  reception  there,  4.  He  resigns 
his  trust,  and  retires  to  Mount  Yernon,  5,  6.  His  in- 
terest in  Inland  Navigation,  34  His  tour  to  the  Wes- 
tern Country,  34.  A member  of  the  Convention  for 
forming  a Pederal  Constitution,  34,  67 ; and  President 
of  the  Convention,  36.  Unanimously  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  U.  S.,  122.  The  hand  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence in  this,  recognized,  114, 135, 144.  His  letter  to 
General  Knox,  on  the  delay  of  receiving  the  certifi- 
cate of  his  election,  124.  His  triumphal  progress  to 
New  York,  the  seat  of  government,  125,  184  His 
places  of  residence  in  New  York,  33,  note,  134,  166, 
167,  168.  Tribute  to,  by  John  Adams,  President  of 
the  Senate,  135.  His  pensive  reflections,  during  his 
triumphal  progress,  135.  His  Inauguration,  138 ; the 
religious  feeling  indulged  on  the  occasion,  138,  139. 
Particular  description  of  the  spectacle,  140, 142.  His 
speech  in  the  Senate  chamber,  142,  144.  The  fes- 
tivities at  the  inauguration,  145, 146.  His  rules  for 
receiving  visitors,  and  for  entertaining  company, 
149.  He  gives  no  formal  invitations  to  dinner,  164. 
His  Wednesday  dimier-parties,  217.  Receives  calls, 
every  Tuesday  afternoon,  165.  His  drawing-rooms 


open,  from  8 to  10  o’clock,  p.  M.,  every  Friday,  165. 
On  Sundays,  he  attended  church,  and  received  no 
company,  151.  True  account  of  the  institution  of  his 
levees,  151;  Mr.  Jefferson’s  account  corrected,  150, 
151.  Receives  New  Year’s  calls,  214,  215.  The  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  of  his  official  title,  153,  154. 
His  Cabinet,  180.  His  appointment  of  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  181.  At  the  request  of  Congress,  he 
appoints  a day  of  public  thanksgiving  and  prayer, 
181,  182.  His  Eastern  Tour,  183,  202.  Visits  the 
French  fleet  at  Boston,  192.  His  example  of  punc- 
tuality, to  the  city  troops,  at  Boston,  193.  His  speech 
to  Congress  (Jan.  8,  ’90),  216,  217 ; is  dressed,  on  the 
occasion,  in  a suit  of  American  cloth,  217.  His  birth- 
day celebrated  throughout  the  country,  in  1790,  217. 
He  signs  the  treaty  made  with  the  Creek  Indians, 
and  holds  a personal  conference  with  them,  225.  His 
Tour  to  Rhode  Island,  227,  228.  His  affecting  fare- 
well to  New  York,  228,  230.  Removal  of  the  seat  of 
government  to  Philadelphia,  233,  234.  His  place  ot 
residence  there,  365,  and  (1794)  at  Germantown,  371. 
His  Southern  Tour,  329,  339.  His  remark  on  the  sit- 
uation of  the  southern  country,  and  tho  disposition  of 
the  people,  339.  His  travelling  carriage,  329,  330, 
note.  Visits  the  grave  of  Do  Kalb,  338.  Jefferson, 
Hamilton,  and  Edmund  Randolph,  entreat  him  to 
serve  a second  term,  341;  extract  from  Hamilton’s 
letter  on  the  occasion,  341,  343.  His  re-election,  343. 
He  is  assailed,  through  the  public  journals,  by  the 
democratic  party,  352,  357.  Forms  a new  cabinet, 
356.  His  proclamation  of  neutrality,  in  the  war  be- 
tween France  and  England,  349.  His  equipage,  when 
going  to  the  Senate,  365,  366.  His  carriage,  attend- 
ants, dress,  and  appearance,  at  the  opening  of  Con- 
gress, described  by  Richard  Rush,  367,  368.  He  is 
urged  to  continue  in  office  a third  term,  413.  Pub- 
lishes (Sept.  ’96)  his  Farewell  Address,  414.  His  last 
message  to  Congress,  Dec.  ’96,  415.  His  last  levee, 
416.  His  birth-day  celebrated  at  Philadelphia,  with 
great  enthusiasm,  415,  416;  a splendid  ball  on  the  oc- 
casion, described  by  Jeremiah  Smith,  416.  He  at- 
tends the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Adams,  his  successor 
and  devoted  friend,  419;  and  retires  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, 420,  421.  He  describes  to  Gen.  Knox  the  emo- 
tions awakened  by  the  event,  361. 

In  Society.—  He  attends  a bail  at  Annapolis,  and 
opens  it  with  Mrs.  James  Macubbin,  4 .note*',  the 
ffite  in  honor  of  the  Dauphin,  21 ; the  Inauguration 
Ball,  154,155;  dances,  in  a cotillon,  with  Mrs.  Van 
Brugh  Livingston,  and  also  with  Mrs.  Maxwell,  and, 
in  a minuet,  with  Miss  Van  Zandt,156;  and  attends 
balls  at  Philadelphia  and  Charleston,  339,  366.  Mrs. 
Cushing's  account  of  one  of  his  dinner-parties,  387, 
388.  He  attends  the  theatre,  15S,  159,  212,  note,  214, 
371 ; and  the  circus,  375.  He  witnesses  a balloon  as- 
cension, the  first  in  America,  377.  He  is  present  at 
the  commencement  of  Columbia  College,  158.  In 
society  in  Philadelphia  in  1787,  432.  His  “ rules  of 
civility  and  decent  behavior  in  company,”  430. 

Hie  Friends:  he  reveres  Franklin,  222;  is  affec- 
tionately attached  to  Lafayette  and  his  son,  34,  35,  290, 
291 ; Hamilton,  341 ; Greene,  338 ; Adams,  419,  420 ; 
Enjoyed  the  society  of  Mrs.  Caton,  210;  Mrs.  Charles 
Carroll,  and  Mrs.  Henry  Philips,  264,  395.  His  play- 
ful letter  to  Chastellux,  9,  note ; and  farewell  letter 
to  M.  Gerard,  83 ; and  to  M.  Luzerne,  id.  See  Jon- 
athan Trumdull,  Knox,  Pickering,  O.  Wolcott, 
Humphreys,  and  Lear. 

His  Enemies:  Jefferson,  345,  349 , note,  414;  Fre- 
neau, 345,  849 ; Bache,  416 ; Tom  Paine,  416 ; Andrew 
Jackson,  417 ; Genet,  350,  351 ; and  others,  357.  His 
final  letter  to  Jefferson,  414.  Volney’s  unfavorable 


480 


INDEX. 


opinion  of,  889;  Washington’s  pithy  note  to  him,  ib. 
A caricature  of,  123,  note.  An  attempt  to  poison  him, 
148,  note. 

In  Domestic  Life : he  visits  his  aged  mother,  124 
His  last  interview  with  her,  124, 125 ; her  death,  179. 
His  home  employments,  84 ; unostentatious  mode  of 
living,  206 ; moderate  wishes,  241 ; furniture,  167, 244 ; 
servants,  149,  note , 243,  247 ; interest  in  minute  de- 
tails of  household  affairs,  240,  245;  custom  of  having 
but  one  dish  of  meat,  165 ; moderate  use  of  wine,  165 . 
dress,  161,  325;  early  hour  of  retiring,  216.  His  daily 
life  at  Mount  Yernon,  422.  His  considerate  regard 
for  Mrs.  W.’s  comfort,  164,  247,  248. 

His  Religious  Character : he  refuses  to  see  com- 
pany on  Sundays,  149 ; habitually  recognizes  the 
Providence  of  God,  4,  5 ; statedly  attends  public  wor- 
ship, 151, 184, 190, 196, 226, 836, 836 ; says  Grace  at  table, 
104.  He  attends  prayers  at  St.  Paul’s  Chapel,  New 
York,  immediately  after  his  Inauguration,  144.  He 
appoints  a day  of  public  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  182. 
His  habit  of  spending  an  hour  in  meditation,  before 
retiring,  and  before  breakfast,  152. 

His  Declining  Health , 178, 211, 22S,  329.  His  natu- 
ral impetuosity,  861.  His  remarkable  self-control,  346, 
358.  His  calm  views  of  death,  179.  His  death,  422. 

Portraits  of  him , by  Trumbull,  225,  335,  409,  410 ; 
Stuart,  411,  note ; Pine,  407 ; Du  Cimetiere,  408 ; Ful- 
ton, 40S ; Dunlap,  ib. ; W right,  ib. ; Savage,  409 ; 
Madame  de  Brehan,  ib. ; Sharpless,  412 ; Charles  W. 
Peale,  411 ; James  Peale,  ib. ; and  Eembrant  Peale, 
ib. ; Busts  of  him,  by  Houdon,  409 ; Gallagher,  412 ; 
and  Eccleston,  412 ; Engravings  of  him,  411 ; Medal- 
lion portrait  of  him,  156. 

Tributes  to  him,  by  John  Adams,  419 ; Alfieri,  430 ; 
Erskine,  430;  Fox,  430;  Frederick  of  Prussia,  146; 
Mirabeau,  368 ; Napoleon,  146 ; and  the  author,  67. 

His  Personal  Appearance  described,  by  Chastel- 
lux,  428 ; Dumas,  427 ; Mandrilion,  429 ; Eobin,  428 ; 
Bush,  363;  Mrs.  Wallace,  865;  Wansey,  368. 

IRs  Influence  on  the  destiny  of  the  U.  S.,  47. 

■  , Mrs.,  not  present  at  the  Inauguration,  161 ; her 

journey  from  Mount  Vernon  to  New  York,  161, 162, 
163, 164 ; her  reception  by  Washington  at  New  York, 
164 ; her  levees,  150, 165, 215, 216, 326, 369.  The  demo- 
crats object  to  them,  369.  She  is  not  at  the  Inaugu- 
ration Ball,  157 ; and  never  at  a ball,  after  the  Eevo- 
lution,  in  New  York,  204.  She  requires  due  attention 
to  the  etiquette  of  refined  society,  165,  note.  Her 
custom  of  returning  visits  on  the  third  day,  366.  She 
is  present  at  the  delivery  of  Hamilton's  oration  on 
General  Greene,  178.  Her  most  intimate  friends,  388, 
393.  Her  letter  to  Mrs.  Mercy  Warren,  199,  202.  She 
always  spoke  of  Washington  as  “the  General,”  216. 
Her  grandchildren,  202.  A reflection  upon  the  fact 
of  Washington's  having  no  children,  160.  Mrs.  W., 
her  personal  appearance,  159  ; and  manners,  366 ; 
described  by  Chastellux,  160 ; and  by  Wansey,  369. 
Portraits  of  her,  by  Woolaston,  159;  and  Trumbull, 
813.  Biographical  notice  of  her,  159,  160. 

Washington,  Mildred,  daughter  of  Augustine,  marries 
Thomas  Lee,  105. 

Watkins , John  W.,  marries  Judith,  daughter  of  Governor 
Wm.  Livingston,  97. 

Watson,  John  F,,  the  antiquary,  corroded,  239,  240. 

Watts,  John,  sen.,  of  New  York,  his  house  escaped  the 
ravages  of  the  great  fire  (Sept.  21,  ’76),  28. 

■  , John,  Eecorder  of  New  York,  a member  of  the 

Social  Club,  148,  note.  One  of  the  Attorneys  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  175.  Takes  part  in  the  “ Constitu- 
tion Celebration,”  110.  Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation 
List,  99. 

, Lady  Mary,  daughter  of  Lady  Stirling,  pays  her 


compliments  to  Mrs.  Washington,  164.  Is  at  the 
Inauguration  Ball,  155.  She  and  Mr.  Eobert  W.,  her 
husband,  are  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  is  in  favor  of  tolerating  thea- 
tres, 213.  His  recaption  of  Washington,  in  Georgia, 
280. 

Webster,  Daniel,  his  favorable  mention  of  John  Bradford 
Wallace,  366,  note.  His  eloquence  referred  to,  362. 

, Noah,  of  Connecticut,  classmate  of  Oliver  Wolcott, 

205,  206.  Marries  Miss  Greenleaf,  104.  Takes  part  in 
the  “ Convention  Celebration,”  110. 

Welcome,  the  name  of  the  vessel  in  which  William  Penn 
comes  to  America,  11. 

Wellesley,  Sir  Arthur,  209,  note*.  Marquis  and  Mar- 
chioness, ib.  See  Caton. 

Wentworth,  Governor,  the  associations  of  his  ancient  man- 
sion, 192,  note,  197. 

Wertmuller,  the  portrait  of  Washington  which  he  is  said 
to  have  painted,  411. 

West,  Benjamin,  of  New  Hampshire,  Member  of  Con- 
gress, 1789,  166,  note. 

, Benjamin,  President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  his 

opinion  of  the  merits  of  Malbone,  as  an  artist,  412. 

Wet  Quakers,  import  of  the  term,  269. 

Wheats,  Ladr,  widow  of  Sir  Jacob  Wheate,  a British 
oflicer,  81. 

Wheatley,  Phillis,  of  Boston,  an  African,  her  poetry  com- 
mended by  Abbe  Gregory,  and  Mr.  Clarkson,  405. 

Wheaton,  Joseph,  of  Georgia,  Member  of  Congress,  in 
1789, 167,  note. 

White,  Eev.  (afterward  Eight  Eev.  Dr.)  William,  Chap- 
lain to  Congress,  293.  Officiates  at  the  marriage  of 
Wm.  Bingham  and  Miss  Willing,  293;  and  of  M.  do 
Marbois  and  Miss  Moore,  81,  note.  Is  present  at 
Washington’s  farewell  dinner,  and  gives  an  account 
of  it,  41S. 

, Bear  Admiral,  and  Lieut.  General  (of  the  British 

army),  brothers  of  Lady  Hayes,  210. 

family,  of  Philadelphia,  loyalists,  16.  Thomas  W., 

a subscriber  to  the  Philadelphia  dancing  assembly, 
1748,  13.  Mrs.  Thomas  W.,  and  Miss  Sophia  W., 
among  the  Philadelphia  “ belles  and  dames,”  of  1757, 
13. 

, Alexander,  of  Virginia,  Member  of  Congress  in 

1789, 166,  note. 

family,  of  New  York,  very  conspicuous,  210. 

Henry,  and  the  Misses,  28,  31,  210,  note. 

Whitlock,  Mrs.,  lister  of  Mrs.  Siddons,  an  actress  on  the 
Philadelphia  stage,  370,  373. 

Whitney,  Eli,  inventor  of  the  cotton  gin,  403. 

Wignell,  Mr.,  manager  of  the  new  theatre  at  Philadel- 
phia, 213  315.  His  difference  with  Mrs.  Bingham,  374. 

Wigs,  much  worn  by  gentlemen  in  America,  in  17S6,  46. 

WiUcocks,  John,  a subscriber  for  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748.  Mrs.  W.,  one  of  the  Philadelphia 
“dames,”  in  1757,  13. 

Willett  family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

, Colonel  Marinus,  the  success  of  his  mission  to  the 

Creek  Indians,  224. 

Williamson,  Dr.  Hugh,  of  North  Carolina,  delegate  to 
the  “ Convention,”  70.  Marries  Miss  Apthorp,  103. 
Is  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note.  History, 
character,  and  personal  appearance  of,  71.  Conduct 
towards  Caracchi,  the  sculptor,  410. 

William  and  Mary  College,  state  of,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Eevolution,  7, 

Willing,  Charles,  of  Philadelphia,  founder  of  the  Willing 
family  in  America,  15.  Notice  of,  14.  Mrs.  Anne, 
his  wife,  15.  See  notices  of  members  of  the  family, 
13,  14,  15,  16,  291,  293,  29S. 

, Thomas,  Washington  dines  with,  432.  Epitaph 

on,  by  Horace  Binney,  16. 


INDEX. 


481 


' Wilmington , Delaware.  See  Montgomery  and  fining. 

Wilson,  James,  of  Pennsylvania,  delegate  to  the  “ Con- 
vention,” 65.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  that  re- 
ported the  Constitution,  181.  His  oration  at  the 
Philadelphia  “ Constitution  Celebration,”  107.  Char- 
acter of,  75. 

Winecoop,  Miss  Phebe,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “ belles,” 
in  1757,  13. 

Wingate,  Paine,  of  New  Hampshire,  U.  S.  Senator  in 
1789,  166,  note,  91,  95,  note,  195.  Describes  a dinner- 
party at  Washington’s  house,  164. 

Winthrop  family,  of  Boston,  ancient  and  distinguished,  8. 

, Eobert  C.,  his  description  of  Sir  John  Temple,  94. 

Son  of  Sir  John’s  beautiful  daughter,  10,  note*. 

■ family,  of  New  York,  tories,  their  residence  in 

Wall  street,  81 1. 

Wiseheart,  B.,  a subscriber  to  the  Philadelphia  dancing 
assembly,  in  1748, 13,  note. 

Wistar,  Dr.  Caspar,  of  Philadelphia,  267.  Marries  Miss 
Marshall,  104. 

Witherspoon,  Eev.  Dr.,  President  of  Nassau  Hall  (Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey),  82,  99,  note.  Permits  students 
to  serve  in  the  Eevolutionary  War,  70. 

Wolcott  family,  of  Connecticut,  notice  of,  204  Henry, 
Koger,  Oliver,  and  the  second  Oliver,  204.  The  first 
Oliver,  the  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, 204. 

, Oliver,  the  second  (Secretary  of  the  Treasury), 

his  classmates,  204,  205.  His  letters  on  the  cost  of 
living  in  New  York,  206;  and  in  Philadelphia,  237, 
238.  Appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  356. 
Learns  from  Mr.  Hammond  the  fact  of  Kandolph’s 
treachery,  358 ; and  informs  the  President  of  it,  359. 
His  account  of  George  Hammond,  380 ; and  M.  Adet, 
885;  and  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  in  1792, 
870. 

, Mrs.  Oliver,  is  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Susan  Wal- 
lace, to  one  of  Mrs.  Washington’s  drawing-rooms, 
866.  Anecdote  of  Mr.  Tracy  and  Mr.  Liston,  in  rela- 
tion to  her,  400.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight’s 
opinion  of  her,  ib.  Judge  Hopkinson’s  account  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.,  400. 

, Miss,  younger  sister  of  Oliver  W.,  is  a celebrated 

beauty,  400.  Marries  Chauncey  Goodrich,  ib. 

Wolfe,  Miss  Sabine,  marries  Hugh  H.  Breckenridge  (af- 
terwards Judge  Breckenridge),  323,  note. 

Women,  American,  style  of  the  dress  of,  in  1789,  156, 
note.  Eochambeau  and  Brissot  charge  them  with 

61 


extravagance  in  dress,  828.  Many  British  officers 
marry,  4,  note.  Schools  for,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Eevolution,  7.  Characteristics  of  the  more  elevated 
class  of,  325.  See  Society. 

Wood,  William  B.,  the  actor,  his  “Personal  Eecollections 
of  tho  Stage,”  quoted,  874,  note. 

Woodcutter,  the  American,  Talleyrand’s  admirable  sketch 
of,  438. 

Woodrop,  Miss  Sally,  one  of  the  Philadelphia  “belles,” 
in  1757, 13. 

Woolaston , John,  painter,  407.  Portraits  of  Mrs.  Custis 
and  Mrs.  Smith  by,  159.  Notice  of,  159,  note;  by 
Dunlap,  Hobbes,  Walpole,  and  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  ib. 
Verses  to,  by  Francis  Hopkinson,  159,  note.  Portrait 
by  (in  the  British  Museum),  of  Thomas  Brittan,  ib. 

Worcester,  the  bishop  of,  who  preferred  bacon  to  Shake- 
speare, 213. 

Wright,  Joseph,  portrait  of  Washington  by,  408. 

, family,  of  New  York,  residence  of,  33,  note. 

Wynkoop , Henry,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  Congress, 
in  1789,  166,  note.  Eeferred  to  in  a conversation  on 
the  subject  of  the  official  title  of  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
153, 154. 

Wynne,  family,  of  Philadelphia,  of  the  elder  part  of  the 
provincial  aristocracy,  11. 

Wythe,  George,  Chancellor  of  Virginia,  232, 831.  Delegate 
to  the  “ Convention,”  67.  Signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  68.  Eemarkable  character  of  hl3 
mother,  67.  History,  character,  and  personal  appear- 
ance of,  67,  68,  69. 

Y. 

Yale  College,  New  Haven,  slate  of,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Eevolution,  7.  Eev.  Dr.  Stiles,  President  of,  de- 
livers a Latin  oration  on  the  character  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, 222. 

Yates,  Judge,  in  Mrs.  Jay’s  Invitation  List,  99,  note. 

Yellow  fever,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1793,  370.  Account  of 
it  by  Oliver  Wolcott,  870 ; and  by  Brockden  Brown, 
370,  note. 

Torklown,  Washington  goes  to,  attended  by  Eocham- 
beau, 6. 

Yrvjo,  Don  CaTlos,  Marquis  .d’,  Spanish  Minister,  suc- 
ceeds Don  F.  Jaundennes,  388.  His  visit  (1796)  to 
Washington,  at  Mount  Vernon,  388.  Washington’s 
letter  to  Pickering  on  the  occasion,  888.  Marries 
Sally  McKean,  187,  389, 


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